Warhammer 40K: Forward Unto Dawn
by JintaRequim
Summary: Masterchief once thought the flood was horrifying, but he doesnt know how vast and scary the galaxy is...
1. Warhammer 40k - Forward Unto Dawn

"Well, this is a bloody mess we're in. I told you this was a bloody bad idea returning to this hell hole." Sven grunted as he pulp a skull.

"With respect brother you shut your whining right now or I swear in Russ' name I will bash your skull open!" replied Ragnar as swatted aside one in front of him, splattering its remains on the wall. The frustration applied to it was evident.

Ragnar, Sven and their remaining wolf brethren are being pursued by creatures in the dark. Their number was so great that even if the Wolves were to blindly fire their storm bolter, each round would find their mark. One creature shriek in pain, but the rest pushed on in rampage.

"Hah! You can try! I'll make sure to return the broken nose to you, milksop!". Sneered Sven.

Ragnar's reply was rolling his eyes. Sven was truly drunk out of his mind in their last fight to remember that it was he that fell to the floor and broke his own nose.

The fight, although ferocious was not relentless. Sven was breathing hard, not from the fatigue but from the fury still boiling in his blood. The squad pick themselves up and move on.

They pass through a dark alley. It was a cadaverous scene that only a Night Lord would appreciate with glee. Blood, guts and entrails painted everywhere from the wall to the ceiling. Bodies disembowled. Heads piled at one spot. Severed limbs on another pile, strangely still spilling blood. Ragnar ran passed a dead corpse, impaled head to gut by a protruding limb spear. The eye sockets was empty and crying tears of blood. His mouth opens to a hollow scream. Any normal men would be paralyzed in terror.

But their visitor was no normal men.

Ragnar shot the head in disgust before moving on, the explosion of the bolt round turning it into red mist.

Up ahead was the entrance to the bridge. On top of being sealed tight, there are more human corpses piling at the entrance like some grotesque barricade. At the edge of his senses, Ragnar can hear the next incoming wave. He scowls at the situation. He needed another complication like he needed Sven's complaints.

Rangar signaled the last surviving Iron Priest to open the door. The Wolves clears off the corpses for the priest and use said corpse to form a wall of flesh and bone.

They are getting close.

Devastator Wolves plant down their heavy weapons. The Wolves reloaded their half full Bolters and pistols with fresh magazines.

Closer.

Their crude defense line is done. Now they wait. The silence was deafening save for the silent buzz of the Iron Priest's las cutter melting through the door's lock mechanism.

Very close. Ragnar can hear the tap tap sound of clawed feet on the floor.

Sven breaks the silence. He revs his chainsword and shouted, "I am not bloody dying in this hell hole without a last sip of Fenris ale!" His words was met with roars of laughter by the survivors. Ragnar shook his head in amusement.

"If we do survive, I am drowning you in ale." Said Ragnar.

The first of the hordes can into view.

"For the Allfather!" Ragnar bellowed and the Wolves fired in unison.

##########

Cortana was walking through the empty space ship, the half of Forward unto Dawn. It has been 3 years since the events that happended on The Ark. She stops and turns. Icicles have formed around John's cyrotube. Her bright holographic form casts his pod in a serene blue glow. As she gets closer she can see the sleeping Green Armor man in side. She places her palm on John's tube with a rare weary look.

"I miss you, it's been really lonely." 3 years was far longer for an AI. Cortana can be said to reach the end of her service. AIs at her age would start to develop strange things as they slowly think themselves to death.

Strange things like the need to exist as humans exist and walk the empty hall of Forward unto Dawn in physical form.

Strange things like emotion. Like loneliness and sorrow.

She pushes away these things. As long as there is a single human in this vessel, she needed to function like she should. For as long as she could. She slowly walked back into the cold darkness.

Cortana approached the bridge to activate the playback distress call, the same distress call she had broadcast every hour of every day for the past 3 years. She performed her duty faithfully, but it's been so long that even she felt that this far cry for help would go unheard evermore.

That's when the alert system activated.

WARNING. BLACK HOLE EMERGENCE. PROXIMITY ALERT.

The warning came so sudden, so unexpected that Cortana's form bursts into static and needed 2 seconds to reform. As the readings flood into her thought matrix, another strange thing comes to her.

Fear.

She scrambles every power she could to ignite the engines, to blast away from its gravity polarity even when she already know the futility of her action. The ship is broken in half which made the ship inoperable at it's full capacity. Even if it did, Forward Unto Dawn still can't run away from the black hole's gravity well. The numbers don't lie, and yet she tries to defy it.

Hope.

Finally she gives up and accepts the numbers. Thrusters died. Cortana watched on helplessly as the ship was being pulled in. Space and time bend around her. She stared straight at John one last time before everything when black and uttered three words.

"I'm so sorry."

Despair and regret.

######

Ragnar makes a wide swing across. 7 of the monster was sliced to half on the torso. Another wave comes to him. He hacks left and right. In half a heartbeat Ragnar mag-locks his sword to his left hip, retrieves his Bolter on his right hip and fired four shots on four monsters crawling up the ceiling. They fell. Ragnar swaps back to his melee weapon and slice them in half horizontally even before they hit the ground. He makes three diagonal slash, killing 4 of the monster.

No shot was wasted. Every swing a killing stroke.

2 larger sized monstrosity enters the fray. It reminded him of the Nurglite. Walking on small, stubby legs and large wobbly belly. He meet their approach with equal amounts of burst fires from his Bolter at their center. They didn't fell, their fat belly absorbs the lethal impact. Ragnar kept firing.

Then his Bolter clicked empty. "Shite!" Ragnar cursed and blocks the incoming attack from one of them with it. The fat monster's scythed claw made a deep gash on his pauldron and cut the back of his head. He punches the creature in the gut. His fist went through with surprising ease right up the elbow. Something gave him pause. Through the armor's sensories he can feel some crawl and squirm around his arm. He finished the monster off with an uppercut, his arm bursts out of the monsters head, covering his face with blood and white pus.

And something else.

His arm had smaller creatures crawling around it, slipping in through the joints and chewing the softer layer of protection within. Ragnar growled and tries to shake them off. Then pain assaulted his right thigh. The monster wasn't dead. It's claw pierced through his ceramite armor when it fell. Ragnar grimaced in pain but did not scream. They will not have the satisfaction of hurting him.

From his blindside, the second monster roared in triumph and raises his scythed claw high, ready to strike Ragnar on his helmetless head.

But it never got the chance.

Righteous flame bursts forth and burns the creature. Its roar of triumph became a roar of pain as it struggled uselessly to douse the fire. The fire didn't kill it. That honor fell to the two grey hunters who both decapitated and disembowled it in a series of deadly combo.

"Ye bloody fookin' cunt! I'm getting bloody tired of looking after yer bloody arse!" Sven shouted over the din of battle, his mouth still leaving trails of remenant fire.

"I thought you enjoy nannying me, mum." Ragnar jested.

"Ye be a real bloody pain in the arse if I hafta bring Grimmar back his precious bloody pup in a bodybag." As he spat a gobble of burning phlem at a disembowled creature, incinerating it.

"Gene-seed." Ragnar corrected as he pulls out the claw. He stomps the head of the monster, killing it instantly while reloading his Bolter.

"Whatever, ya bloody cunt. Just bloody try ta stay alive."

And that was as far as 'Thank you' and 'You're welcome' would go between the two of these Wolves. The battle resumes its current ferocity. Ragnar can't be bothered with the wound. There was no time. More monsters poured through the opposite corridor, through the ventilation ducts, elevator shafts and even through the walls.

No matter how much they kill, the Wolves couldn't instill fear upon their enemy. How do you stop something that comes at you and is not afraid to die? Ragnar welcomes them with the song of Fenris singing in his soul. To him, they are the perfect opponent. And by extension, he knows his Wolf brothers felt the same. He can hear their heaving breath. He can see their movement. Their eyes burns with the fires of battle. They fought with steady rising fury.

Like hungry wolves rampaging in a cage full of lambs.

A bolt of plasma energy sailed accross the corridor. It carries the heat of the sun and immolates everything it touches before exploding in a mini supernova of bright light on a solid wall. Creatures burned in its passing. They screamed but not for long as they flesh form was cleansed to ash.

The Long Fang sighed. "Blasted Morcai, ta wolf's bane is as dry as ta desert of Tallarn." Said the Long Fang named Vkarl, and his named Plasma Cannon. The veteran gently placed his heavy weapon down and drew his Frost Axe. Despite the chaos around him, Vkarl was seen limbering up. He strode rather than charging headlong into battle. Older than all the other Wolves combined, his movement showed grace and elegance. Wasting little energy and showing little flair. But killed just as much as them. He was the most in control amongst all the others.

Ragnar had always admired Vkarl. He fights with wisdom and not with the feral rage that is in the blood of all Wolves. More than once in the practise cage did Vkarl gave Ragnar the right advice even before he lost the spar, as if he can see how the paths of battle even before the journey started.

Even this battle. He killed one after another with the passion no different than chopping meat for dinner back in Fenris. Much he had seen in his centuries of service to the Allfather made him largely inured to fury.

Ragnar wondered if the outcome of this skirmish would be different if Vkarl would take the lead instead of him. It was Vkarl that insisted Ragnar lead the squad. He is but an old Wolf, he said. It's time for the young ones to lead.

"Focus, Ragnar." Vkarl said. "Save it later for meditation."

Ragnar snaps his attention back to the battle at hand.

The trio of Grey Hunters were fighting back to back, covering each other's blindspots. Their Bolters have long since spent. There was never enough for all the foul xenos. Nevertheless, when their Bolter is silent, their melee weapon is still singing.

They fought as if they are one. Like they know what each other is thinking. When the first charged in and cleaves a big one with his power Zwihander in half, the other two slaughters the smaller ones. When the second swings high his axe, the third sweeps his power sword low. When the third hacks the chest, the second severs the arm and the first kicks it far back, the dead corpse crashing at the rest, felling them like ten-pins. When the slaughter concludes, they pulled in together, back to back once more.

Such was their bond of brotherhood. Closer than blood. Stronger than adamantium.

"Sub-commander." A monotone mechanical voice buzzed into Ragnar's vox bead. Ragnar glanced at the Iron Priest. The door is open.

And not a moment too soon.

Priority job complete. He turns to the secondary job of the moment. He draws his twin Bolter and fired a wide arc. The fusillade turned the crowd of monsters into mulch. His ammo loadout was the specialized melta rounds. Meant to destroy armored targets, it's literally an overkill when used against live targets.

One enterprising monster drops from the ceiling, his fanged maw opened wide, threatening to devour the priest's head. But the priest's powerful servo arm caught it in mid-flight and slams the body on the nearby wall.

"WOLVES FALL BACK INTO THE BRIDGE!" Roared Ragnar. The Iron Priest entered first. Then the Grey Hunters. Then Sven. Ragnar pulls a krak grenade and toss it right at the entrance just after Vkarl enters. The grenade explodes and caves the entrance, crushing the monsters and blocking it with heavy debris.

"Well that was bloody fun while it lasted." Sven huffed a single sigh. "Now we get a bloody break."

Suddenly the ceiling broke. A huge figure dropped in front of the wolves. This one was big. Bigger then the ones they faced just moments ago. It was a monstrous beast with four legs multiple hollowed eyes on multiple faces. The air ghosts with their stinking hot breath.

Looking at the creature threatens Ragnar to vomit his lunch. It was disgusting, it's very existence anathema to the physical perfection that is Man. By reflex Ragnar fires the last magazine at the creature. Some of the rounds exploded on his skin. Some pinged off of it.

None cause it to flinch, much less hurting it.

Except for Iron Priest. His anti-armor round pierced into its thick hide, exploding and burning the soft meat inside. The monster roars in anguish and charges.

"Disperse!" Under Ragnar's orders, the Wolves scatter to give the monstrosity a wide berth. One of the Wolf, Arngeir, wasn't quick enough and it caught him by the foot. Its massive arm easily lifts the Wolf overhead and slammed to the hard floor 3 times before it flings him accross the bridge, landing on an awkward position.

His brother isn't moving. Without his helmet it is difficult for Ragnar to tell for certain his condition. Suddenly he heard one of the Grey Hunter roared in blind fury, power Zwihander in hand. There's only one way this would end. Ragnar, Sven and the remaining Wolves thrusts themselves into the monster.

#########

Chief...

The voice was soft.

Chief...

No... it's not. It sounded far away.

Chief... Wake up.

Who is it that is calling? It sounded familiar. Like a lost friend.

Chief... I need you.

It is getting closer. Louder.

Chief... Wake up... Now.

Urgent. Desperate. He tries to remember but he can't. It's difficult to think. He heard this voice before but he can't quite place it. But he swears that this voice was familiar. This voice was important. It is the core of his very being.

Core.

Cortana!

CHIEF I NEED YOU PLEASE WAKE UP NOW!

His eyes snaps open at the sound of his voice. His pod was already wide open. There was no homecoming celebration. No soldiers clad in ceremonial uniform clapping their hands to help him out of his pod. No cheering or whooping.

There was only the cold, cold grey metal of the Forward Unto Dawn washed in the sweeping red emergency lights and the alarms blaring. Electric sparks burst everywhere. He takes all this in within half a second and pulls himself out of the pod. "What's wrong?"

"The ship is in a collision course towards an abandoned station! I can't stop it from happening!"

No more needed to be said. The what, where, how and when will have to wait. Cortana already plotted the course in his HUD (Heads Up Display) and he make his way to the bridge. He needed to secure Cortana's chip that is piloting the dead ship. Chief grits his teeth as he makes a mad dash towards the bridge. Pain flared accros his body, an inevitable effect of cryosleep. He was used to the pain and had numerous experience of combat action immediately out of the pod. But this was a whole new level of intensity. Just how long has he been sleeping?

The bridge was alive with activity. Computers scrolling information in fast forward. Lights blinking in various colors. Chief ignores them all and reaches for the tactical desk where hologram of Cortana stands. He yanks out the chip and slot it into his helmet. A chilling effect crawl around his skin as Cortana assumes control over his armor. There was no time for reunion hugs and kisses.

"It's coming straight for us!" Cortana shouted inside his helmet. Master Chief never sweared. Never need to. Swearing occurs when there was an outpouring of emotions. Chief have always had his emotion ordered like a well kept library ever since boot camp. But seeing a ship larger than Forward Unto Dawn meeting him so fast there is no better time or situation for Chief to say, "SON OF A BITCH!" and runs the other way. No sooner than did he hear the earsplitting screech of metal as the bridge he just vacated collides with the other ship. Looking behind the destruction was chasing after him as the other ship continues to plunge itself deeper into the bowels of his ship.

Chief's leg muscles burned. His power armor did its best to assist John's effort, maxing his speed at 50 km/h and actually outrunning the pursuing impact point.

That's when he sees the dead end. A dry metal wall. He takes the only option that is the path to his left. It led him into the armory. "Dammit!" Chief cursed. He looks repeatedly at the armory filled with small arms and the oncoming other ship tearing through his ship's hull towards him. Distance counter showed 100 meters. John's mind grinds for ideas.

80 meters.

He looks around like a trapped mouse for any escape routes.

70 meters.

A maintenance duct. A teleporter. A damn Bubble Shield grenade! Anything!

60 meters.

He looks at the oncoming ship. And zooms in on its hull. He found something that looks like a metal hatch. There was no time to lose. He quickly scavenge all that is within his arm's reach. An Assault Rifle. A frag grenade. A pistol. In the end he takes a fully loaded missile launcher. It was essential for this crazy feat he had in mind. He takes aim.

40 meters.

Chief pulls the trigger and the rocket flies straight and true towards it's target. For good measure and certainty, as soon as the weapon rotates to the last projectile Chief fired it as well. Both missiles hit its intented target, seriously denting the hatch.

30 meters.

Using the wall as boost, Chief sprints towards the crumpled hatch and shoulder-barge through. The moment he gets through he felt gravity pulls him further forward. Before he can flex his thoughts to turn on the flashlight, something hits him on the shoulder. Then on the leg. Then he felt a barrage of hits. His armor's personal shield flashes with every impact. In the rush of things, Chief finds himself disoriented. Losing control of the situation. The only thing he can think of is curl into a ball, shielding his head and hopes his armor was strong enough to absorb the fall damage. He felt himself hitting walls then sliding on a floor and coming to a halt.

His visor shows a wireframe view of his armors damage situation. But Chief dismiss it. He needed to know his bearings. Chief turns on his flashlight and his heart nearly skipped a beat.

A hanging corpse with bleeding eyes shows himself right in front of his face. The man's mouth opened wide as if in his last moments, he screamed in horror.

"That wasn't pleasant." Cortana commented.

Chief didn't reply. Natural adrenaline coursed through his veins as well as stabilizing narcotics administered from his suit. Soon he calms down. He unslings his Assault Rifle from his back and trudges down the dark corridor. The soles of his greaves make wet sounds with each step he takes on the sticky blood that pooled around him. His light sweeps left and right searching for any threats but all he sees is chunks of meat and limbs strewn everywhere. His suit did its best to filter out the smell, but John can still smell the stench of decaying flesh from the air outside his suit.

"What happened, Cortana? Where are we?" He asked a critical question.

"We slipped into a black hole. It brought us to unknown space. And now we're here."

"This don't look like any ship I have ever seen."

"It must be one of the civilian ships." She paused. "So many deaths."

He stops at one particular body. A half naked corpse of a man was pinned on the wall. Each hands outstretched and pierced with a long metal bar. His skin was cut and peeled back, revealing his organs within. It feels wrong. Everything about this place feels wrong. He had seen bodies torn apart in the war against the Covenant and the Flood.

But this looked like an occultic massacre.

Beside the pinned body was a writings in blood. "What does it say?" Asked John as he points at it.

"I don't know." Cortana answered.

"You don't know?"

"I never seen writings like these, have you?" Cortana answered with an undertone of annoyance.

"Must be a new alien species." John said. A eerie screeching sound came from behind. John turns around, Assault Rifle at the ready. His superhuman abilites made the feat looked instantaneous.

But there was nothing except body parts in his sights.

Then he heard the subtle flapping sound from above him. He looked. It came at alarming speed. It came crashing down at him. Under the poor lighting he could only see parts of the creature. Friend or foe, John squeezes the trigger but the burst of fire hit nothing as the creature swipes it off his grip. With practise ease John snatches the pistol mag-locked on his hips and fired a shot but missed it.

Sensing his frustration, Cortana switch on the night vision while turning off the torchlight at the same time. As soon as John saw it, he fired another shot and clipped the wing of the creature and fell it to the ground. It quickly recovers upright and claws its way ferociously towards John.

He squeezed another round that pulp its head. But it was still coming. The creature swipes its long talon on John. But the Spartan's heavy boot fell first, crushing it into a mess of meat and blood. It twitched twice before falling still.

"Cortana what was that? A new form from the Flood?"

"No, its bio-data does not match. Actually, I can't find shit in the archives. It's something else, something new. An indegenious species maybe?"

"Copy that." Chief resumes his march.

"That poor bastard looks uglier than than a Brute."

Cortana has been talking a lot lately. "Did you just swear a moment ago?" AIs have specific personalities. To add flavor to the interactions. Napolean. Lincoln. Washington. For whatever reason he even heard an AI with the personality of Adolf Hitler. But despite all the personalities he hadn't know that AI would ever swear.

"What are you my mom or something?" Cortana replied annoyingly.

"And now you're being sarcasstic."

"So what? Sue me. Court marshall me for all I care."

"Where's the mute button on this thing?"

"Hellooo? I CONTROL the mute button."

"I should unplug you."

"Yeah? Good luck getting your ass outta here without my help."

Chief fell silent for a while. "I missed you, Cortana. Four full years of dreamless sleep. I missed you."

The reply came a few seconds later. Her voice meek. "I missed you too, Chief. Four full years of solitude."

And for that fraction of a moment, all the cadavorous scene seemed trivial compared to the bonds that they have forged. He was a breed from desperate times. She was all that's left from the Pillar of Autumn. He was to protect her at all cost, but now she becomes an inseperable ally.

Not ally. A friend.

A roar and a rumble broke the sweet spell. "Locate." Chief ordered, having his mind full in combat mode once again.

"Done. The source of the sound came from 800m northeast and 500m below us. I have the approximate marked at your minimap."

Chief marched on with purpose. His senses was still focused on his surroundings as well in case of another ambush. But he marched on with purpose.

Towards the blood curdling roar.

"What do you think this is? A video game? You're supposed to walk AWAY from that." Cortana protested.

"Can you hear it? Over the roar." Just as he said it, there is another of that distance roar and punctuated with subtle pap pap pap sound. "It sounded like gunfire." His march became a jog and then a run. The fighting became louder and more pronounced.

Chief had the best seat to a gladitorial battle at the upper walkway of what looks to be a hangar bay. A group of armored figures were fighting a monster. At first Chief saw them as some delirious soldiers reliving the medieval age hacking their foe with axes and swords, but he saw that their group also had modern firearms. Their armor bore marks and emblems he couldn't recognize.

"How about lets leave it to them." suggested Cortana.

Chief looks around and breaks a part of a large pipe, and turns the sharp end downwards.

"Chief." Cortana called but was ignored. When opportunity shows itself he leaps off. With the weight of his body he drives the pipe a foot deep into it's armored flesh as he landed somehere below the nape of the monster's neck. The monster roared and shake its head violently to get the intruder off who was desperately trying to hold on to the pipe.

One of the grey warrior saw the newcomer and yelled, "Hold down the beast!" And jams his sword at one of the monster's foot while it was distracted. The sword nailed it to the floor holding it in place. The other's followed suit.

Master Chief draws his Assault Rifle and empties the magazine at a single spot. Pieces of hard carapace pinged off his visor with dull clack clack sound. Half a magazine later blood spattered. He throws it off and jams a pair of primed grenades into the open wound and jumps off. 5 seconds late they exploded from within the monster, decapitating it and painted the hangar floor with its blood and innards.

At the same time he holsters his rifle and jams a pair of primed grenades into the open wound and jumps off. After a 5 seconds fuse the grenades exploded, decapitating the beast and painted the hangar floor with its blood and innards.

Threat eliminated.

John stood tall, rifle in hand. When the dust settled, the Spartan wasn't sure what he was looking at.

##########

Ragnar slammed onto the wall. "Fooking beast..." He hissed with repressed anger. Warning klaxons blared at his system indicating inflicted damage on his power armor. He muted them all with a thought.

The beast came at him with its maw gaping open. Ragnar quickly drops face first to the floor as its mouth missed him when it chomps. Sven draws his power axe high and brought it down. The power fields shears off the molecular structure of the beast's tough carapace but did little else to hurt it. He follows up with another one but was swatted away by the monster's claw. He rolled on the floor and came to a halt on the adjacent wall.

Sven looks down and saw the holy aquila had been desecrated. It was hideously defaced by four claw marks and it's not recognizable anymore. Sven looks at the monster with renewed fury. This is a crime of the most dire. An afront to everything the Imperium stands for. He will not see it being insulted by this thing. "You shouldn't have done that," Said Sven in a low and dangerous voice.

The monster roared. Another Space Wolf roared back. The former was a challenge. The latter was fury and sorrow combined together. The Zwihander Grey Hunter swung his weapon in diagonally downward, cutting great gouges on the beast's hardened carapace. This got the monster's attention. He swings again and again at it. With animalistic instinct the beast simply backs off from the lethal attacks until the Space Wolf falters a bit in his ferocity.

The beast lunges at him. Its mouth closed and caught his weapon arm between its jagged teeth. The monster bites down hard on his wrist. Ceramite whined and dents at its force. The Grey Hunter cried in pain. He punches the monster's face repeatedly with his left gauntlet, desperately trying to escape. But the monster hold fast and yanks it left and right like a dog tearing a doll apart. "Brother!" The other Grey Hunter slams the flat side of his power axe on its hideous face. The monster yelped and releases its quarry.

The Grey Hunter falls to his knees staring at his right arm. The ceramite layer had large holes on it where the monster had bitten him. He could feel the numbness on his fingertips and the pain of joint dislocated at the elbow. His arm was ruined, held together in false form by his power armor.

He takes his Zwihander with his good left arm and charges at the beast once more. There was no form on his swings. The loss of his Grey Hunter brother so deep that it robbed it from him. "Brother! Don't! Stop!" The other shouts at him. But he didn't listen. All he wants was to avenge his dead Grey Hunter. "Brother!" He tried again.

The lapse of focus gave the creature the chance to pin him down to the floor. The Space Wolf swings his axe in a repeated 'X' pattern to keep the monster's mouth from eating his head. Suddenly the monster was slammed aside by the combined charging force of Ragnar, Sven and Vkarl. It drops to its side but quickly recovered.

That's when something unexpected happened.

Ragnar saw a green figure lept onto its back. The monster was quick to react and tries to shake it off. Immediately there are questions in his mind, but they escaped Ragnar when he bellowed, "Hold down the beast!" While it was preoccupied with the newcomer, Ragnar jams his sword a foot deep into the floor and nailed the creature in place. The other Grey Hunter snatches the Zwihander from his brother's amateur grip and copied Ragnar.

Firmly in place, the figure takes out his autogun and fired repeatedly at the beast before jamming a pair of grenade into his exposed flesh. A moment later, its head came off its neck with an explosion. The dust settled. Sanity asserts its rule on Ragnar's mind. The question returns. In such an abrupt meeting there is only one way to greet each other.

Both aimed their weapons at each other.

John counted at least 6 target. Not a fair fight, he thought. One of them steps up. Seeing past his poorly kept hair and beard was a poise and hard eyed stare that tells he is the leader of this squad. When he spoke, John saw large fangs.

"My thanks for your assist, guardsman. Your training saw the swift end of the beast we fought. Although I have to admit I have never seen a mortal kill like you." he spoke. "Who are you? What is your regiment?"

"Let's take this carefully." Cortana said from inside his helmet. She didn't need to tell him that. John was quiet. More than that he was confused. They are human. They look human. But they are as large as a Brute. He had been .He had been to the rotten core of the military before and was privy to their secrets. But giants? His thoughts drifted to Professor Halsey. Perhaps this is another of her experiments, a descendant of the Spartan project?

"I know you aren't mute, mortal." Said the lead giant." Answer my question or I will relieve your head from your body."

John looked at their oversized weapons. A submachinegun in their hand, a missile launcher in his. A sword in their hand, a great sword in his. An axe in their hand, a slab of metal in his. Then there was another, older looking warrior who carries an energy weapon so large that it might have been dismounted from a tank.

Cortana scanned their armor. Almost 5-inch thick of impact resistant material. That kind of protection has Cortana relate them literally a humanoid tank. And they moved fast, almost as fast as he does.

He rephrases his assessment. This will turn from an unfair fight to lopsided if shit hits the fan.

John slings his weapon to his back, mag-locking it with a dull thud. Diplomacy would be the best course of action. "I am Sierra Spartan 117, Petty Master Chief Jon, Blue Team's leader."

Blue Team Leader? What does that bloody means?" Said one of them. John's first impression from the words slurred from his lips: Lack of discipline.

One of the giants steps in. He's big and his deathmask was imposing. What made John lost his tension on him was the fact the giant looks at him with great fascination. Almost childlike. "Your armor, boy." There was a mechanical crane on his shoulder. It moves close and around but refrains from scratching John's armor. "Fascinating. I've seen power armors from the Kaskrins before. But none of them looked like yours. Are these new from the Astra Militarum?" The optic lense on his left eye whirred and clicked as it focus and refocus. "What's this now? An Iron Halo? In a mortal's power suit?" The Iron Priest said with mounting excitement.

John was getting lost in this detour of a conversation. Kaskrin? Astra Militarum? Iron Halo? What are these... people are talking about?

"I don't know what you just said, but I am from Earth's UNSC."

"Earth?" Said the foul-mouthed giant. His words echoed in the lips of another (Grey Hunter).

"Earth? You speak of Holy Terra?" Asks the lead giant.

Terra was another name for Earth so John answered, "Yes," with 90% certainty.

"What are you doing here? No... How DID you get here? Holy Terra is thousands of light years away." Said Ragnar.

"My ship was seriously damaged after destroying a Halo structure. A mishap during hyperjump had me drifting in space for almost 4 years. Then (according to Cortana) a black hole suck my ship in and here I am."

"A Halo structure you say. So you were on a mission to destroy some xeno civilization." Said the lead figure. "I never heard of the likes of them. Must be indeginous species."

"They are a galactic threat." John answered. How could they not know of the Halo structures? "Their technologies have the power to destroy all life in the galaxy to starve out the Flood."

"The Flood? What is the Flood?"

"Seriously? Have these blockheads lived in a hole somewhere?" Cortana spoke in his helm.

Then the cannon totting giant speaks. "I sensed there's a lot of confusion in this talk, Ragnar. But I think we should do this when we're in safe space."

"I would like to know more to be sure."

"We knew enough that he's not an enemy. And if he is, the boy is hardly a threat to us. We don't have time for another 10 questions."

The lead giant sigh in surrender. "Yes," He said with a nod. "Yes, you're right." The lead giant approached him. At full height, John only stood up to his chest. But stood fast he did. There was no fear in him. He, his team and every damn fine Marines in the UNSC had gotten used to fighting things that are bigger than them, had better toys than them.

"I am Ragnar Blackmane, Wolf Lord." He makes the sign of the aquila on his chest, indicating his loyalty to the Imperium. "The fool over there is my brother, Sven. Wolf Lord in his own term.

"Watch your bloody self," grunted Sven.

Ragnar ignored his remarks and gestured to the giant with the crane on his shoulder. "This is Jurgen, Iron Priest."

He gestures to the cannon wielding giant, then the Zwihander wielder and the axe wilder. "My wolf guards: Vkarl, heavy specialist. Zorix, my champion. Akletto, Wolf Shield"

"A pleasure to meet you, sirs." John replied curtly. The spirit of his fearlessness echoed in his voice. He replied as if he was talking to another human.

In that instant Ragnar was inwardly impressed. Surprised even. Humans who have witnessed a being like him would quickly falter or fall to their faces, all fighting spirits lost. They would offer fealty and, Allfather forbids, worship. They simply didn't have the mental fortitude to come to terms with what they are seeing. They coined the condition 'Transhuman Dread' or 'Transhuman Awe' depending on which side you're on.

But this man. This man before him didn't even flinch nor fear in the face of 6 Astartes staring down at him. And his little act had earned a measure Ragnar's respect.

"How is it, Jurgen?"

Jurgen shakes his head. "No good, my Lord. She is dead. We can't use her to move quickly."

Ragnar looks at the long stretch corridor of the monorail track. "Then we have to march on foot."

They have been marching almost an hour.

"We were sent here to investigate an Astrnomical distress signal." Ragnar breaks the monotony. "Upon landing we found nothing but butchered bodies. At first we suspected it was the works of Khorne Berserkers. But after venturing forward we discovered something else, worse than either Chaos or Tyranids."

"What are we fighting against?" John asked.

"We aren't sure." Jurgen said. "But what their corpses can tell us that they were... corpses."

"I don't follow, sir." He add the 'sir' so that they felt respected.

"I meant what I said, boy. They were corpses. Human corpses. From our bioscans their genetic stucture said as much. What I can speculate is that upon death most of them were transmuted to become the enemy we're fighting against."

"So we are fighting hordes of zombies." Said John. It seems that the Flood isn't the only species that could reanimate corpses. He was just about to conclude this as such when Jurgen's next words made him take an unaccounted gasp.

"We couldn't find any hint of biohazard outbreak to make them turn." Said Jurgen.

"The powers of Chaos is at work here. Look at the bloody walls." Sven points at the writings on the wall. "It's bloody damn obvious."

"They're not Chaos, Sven." Vkarl said. "I don't know what they are, but Chaos didn't have a hand in this." Vkarl said. The others didn't question the words of their Long Fang. He had seen much and lived to tell.

"They smell exactly like the dead." Ragnar continued where Vkarl had left off. "Because of that our nose can't tell them apart from those that are truly dead. Because of that too we were ambushed not long into the mission. Few of my brothers were slain by them."

Zorix and Arkletto were kneeling beside the prone form of Arngeir, mourning their loss and extracting his gene-seed.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I am a soldier, boy. Death, be it my own or one of my Wolf brothers are merely an occupational hazard. What saddens me is that we cannot recover my brother's gene seeds. Not with this strange curse befallen this ship..."

He wasn't quite sure about this curse he mentioned, but he did see Jurgen mutters some kind of prayer before Vkarl torched their remains with his plasma cannon. Religion is still a vital facet in humanity's society, even after they travelled the stars. But to see it intergrated into the army seemed absurd to him. "What are gene seed? What is that?"

"Our most sacred protogens. The seeds will be extracted from the fallen. The Apothecaries will nurture these seeds into specialized organs in their labs and be gifted to Initiates and turning them into a full fledged Space Wolf like us. You can say that the new Wolf carries the legacy of the fallen Wolf this way."

So they are posthuman soldiers like himself. Though their methods were far different than what made him. Organic implantation to go on top of enhancement drugs no doubt. That would rendered him obsolete. Even so, humanity needs their soldiers to protect their interests. Be it a giant, a super soldier, or your Average Joe Marine. It doesn't matter who is obsolete or otherwise.

"What is your current objective, sir?"

"We have seen enough of the ship. The crew is dead and there's nothing worth to salvage from this ship."

"I disagree, brother." Said Jurgen. "This ship predates the Dark Age of Technology. This might be a good opportunity to learn from it."

"I understand how you feel, my mechanical brother. But the treasure isn't worth the risk for this ship is tainted with some dark power akin to Chaos, or worse. We cannot risk it being brought aboard to another ship. It must be destroyed. We must return to the battle barge and have it send this accursed ship into Hel."

Jurgen analyzes Ragnar's explanation and find no fault in his logic. He knew Ragnar was right. "As you say brother."

"Where is your ship, John?" Asks Ragnar.

"About 1 kilometer from where we killed the monster. But mine is too damaged to ever fly again."

"I see. Ours are perched at their main hangar. It's about 5 levels down from here."

"Considering the enemy that we faced, it is a long way to salvation." Vkarl noted.

"Indeed it is. I still have two more drums for my Storm Bolter." Ragnar turns to his squad. "Brothers, how goes your armor and ammunition?"

Vkarl answered first. "I only left one more plasma reactor to feed my weapon. If the situation demands it, I can set it to overload and blast these twice dead to Hel."

Arkletto answered next. "My axe is thirsty but I can still slay our foe even without the power. 5 boltpistol clips remains, brother-sergeant."

"Zorix?" Ragnar called. "Zorix." Ragnar called again when he didn't answer. The Wolf Lord's countenance was solemn. He walks with shoulders stooped like a man walking to his execution. Ragnar looks at his sword arm. Blood had scabbed and crytsallized where the monster had punctured the armor. He was clearly broken. Physically and spiritually.

Arkletto answers in his stead. "Zorix still has 5 boltpistol clips with him. His Zwihander is still full of power, brother-sergeant."

Ragnar only nodded. Zorix his dearest battle brother is next to useless to him in the next battle. The lost of Arngeir had cut him deeply. "Jurgen? Sven?"

Sven cocks his Bolter. "Six." He aswered with a smile.

"I still have 4 melta magazines. Praise be the Omnissiah."

"And you?" Ragnar turns to John. "What have you left?"

"8 Assault Rifle magazines. 10 pistol clips. 2 grenades."

Practically in full kit, Ragnar thought. "Good. We can still fight. And we will need it to reach our ship."

The path was blocked by a sealed door. "Jurgen, break it open."

Jurgen approaches it. His servo arm moves with surgical procedure and lances the melta cutter in between the crevice of the door where the locks would be. Jurgen mutters prayers to the Omnissiah as the process take place. It seems everything was going smoothly.

That's when the cutter died. This gets the attention of everyone. Jurgen included. In his helm a picture of the servo arm flashed red.

"All is well, brother?" Asks Vkarl.

Jurgen shakes his head. "No good. My melta cutter is damaged in our last encounter with the creatures."

"Then we blast the bloody door open." Sven takes out his Bolter mag-locked on his hip. He was about to fire when Ragnar grab a hold his weapon.

"No, Sven. There's several more doors barring us from the Thunderhawk. It will be a waste of ammo. Besides, forcing the door open this way will attract more of them to us."

"If you have a better idea please voice it out, brother." Sven said with some impatience.

"Sir."

Ragnar turns when he heard John spoke.

"I think I can get it open."

Ragnar and Sven looks at each other and looks back at John. "Very well, boy. Go on."

John examines the door. Its design was similar to those he sees in other ships with the exception there was a holographic "Locked" word projected at the center. He checks the panel on the side and found a keycard slot. He takes out Cortana's chip and slots her in. In an instant the Locked sign was gone, replaced with the blue figure of Cortana.

"Arse of Russ!" Sven growled. Him and the rest of the Space Wolves train their weapon at her, their Astartes physiology make it looked instantaneous.

"Hold your fire!" John shouted. It was only at his last sentence did he realize that he had his rifle aimed at them. It was instinctual reaction.

Cortana's appearance caused John and the Space Wolves to shout back and forth at each other. He have six very large targets to choose. They had only two. His rifle switched between targets he'd feel would be pulling the trigger at any moment.

"Stand down! Stand down!" Ragnar was walking from one Astartes to another, forcing them to lower their weapons. "Do NOT fire unless I give the order, damn you all!" Ragnar bares his fangs in frustration. He didn't want to admit it, but the criticism of the Imperial Fists saying the Sons of Russ are anything but orderly rings true.

"It is a demon!" Sven shouted. "A ghost he brought with him!"

"Ghost my ass, goat-beard." Cortana said with annoyance.

"You're not helping." John said with gritted teeth. She's making this situation worse.

"What the Hel did you-"

"You heard me, asswipe!"

"I'll will end you!" Sven shouted.

"Go on! Take your best shot!"

"ENOUGH CORTANA!"

"ENOUGH SVEN!" Ragnar and Master Chief shouted at the same time. Both their patience were stretched to the limit by their unruliness.

Ragnar and John turned to each other, Ragnar gave a small smirk, and even with John's visor on, he could tell he did the same.

"I'm..." Cortana's voice was soft again after regaining her composure. "I'm sorry, John. I just..."

"I know. I know." Master Chief said calmly. She's indeed approaching the end of her service life.

As for Ragnar, he got into his brother's face. He softly, making sure that their unknown companion didn't hear. "Sven... My brother. I love you but you are making a fool of us with your rash behavior. For the sake of the honor of Russ, please stop this or so help me I will do it for you." Sven looked at his brother-sergeant in the eye and saw the weight of his words. He slowly lowers his weapon, mag-locking it to his hip. "As you say, brother. I'm sorry."

"Aye." He turns slowly to John. "Who is that you are carrying with you, John?"

"This is Cortana. She's an AI and she's a friend."

"AI? What is that?"

"Artificial Intellingece." Cortana aswered. "Man-made lifeform in cyberspace."

"Artificial- A Machine Spirit." Jurgen said with amazement. Jurgen approach, and inspected Cortana "By Russ, this spirit is almost Human, this design is much different from our tech Mechanicus."

"I was created by another human a long time ago. Aside from having human emotions, I can undestand and operate any tech like you drive a car. Please." She gestures to the control panel. Her eyes closed briefly as her programming diagnose its condition. "I see. The door isn't damaged. It appears that the door is on lock down due to power outtage. This door and the rest of it in this sector too. A standard safety protocol of any ship."

"Can you reroute any available auxilliary powers to get the door open?" Asks Master Chief.

"No dice, Chief. Nothing is is available at the moment."

"What do you suggest we do, Cortana?"

She brings up a diagram of the ship for everyone to see. "This is the ship's nuclear generator. For whatever reason it has powered down. I can't remotely turn it back on from here. Someone has to go down and manually restart it."

"I see. Thank you, spirit." Said Jurgen with unexpected politeness. "Dare I ask how we journey on the the reactor."

"Through there. The maintenance." Cortana points at a sealed door. It was smaller than the one they needed to pass through. "It's 7 floors below us. Just follow the yellow line and the signs and you should reach the reactor in no time. But..."

"The door is stuck." John said.

"The door is stuck." Repeated Cortana.

Jurgen reaches to the back of his power armor and pulls out a long cable. "My servo arm has a seperate power generator to operate. Just tell me where to feed this beast."

Under the instructions of Cortana, Jurgen gently pushes a metal panel on the wall beside the maintenance door with two points of his finger. The panel dents and screws pop out of place under the titanic pressure, revealing a mess of cable. He tears out a thick green one and hotwires it to his cable. The control panel blinks a weak green before sliding two centimeters apart before dying once more. Sven and Arkletto forces the door open the rest of the way.

"Well." Jurgen checks his melta rounds before slotting the magazine back into his bolter. "The machine spirit of this ship as gone asleep. Let's give it a rude awakening."

Without power, Master Chief and the rest of the Space Wolf have to improvise at times to navigate through the cramped space of the maintenance corridors. They had to destroy the dead maintenance elevator and climb down the lower levels. They have to cross over a narrow thin bridge one Wolf at a time because it wasn't made to support their weight.

"Blasted Morcai..."

"What..."

It was everywhere. Like cancer growing rampantly within the body, flesh matter has spread around the generator room. They almost cover the entire wall in the sector. Their color was the color of disease, like rotting flesh. Blood and pus oozed down, pooling around the floor. The stench was overwhelming. Even with the filters, Master Chief can still smell the rot in the air. But that wasn't what had them transfixed to the room.

Bodies. There are bodies everywhere. But these are different. The mass of flesh and grown over their hands and legs, trapping them in place on the walls. and ceilings.

"What kind of madness is this?" Arkletto whispered. There was no fear in him. Fear is an alien concept to an Astartes.

"This is the work of Chaos." Sven answered. "The sons of Father Nurgle is behind this."

"No, this is no work of Chaos, Sven." Vkarl answered.

"What more can it be if not Chaos!?" Sven growled back.

"If it were Chaos, brother..." Vkarl looks directly at Sven. His eyes were like silver pearls hidden under the dark sunken depths of his sockets. "I would feel its pressure like a noose on my neck." Vkarl looks at the surroundings. "This... This is something different."

Help...

Everyone spun around to the source of the voice. Weapons drawn at superhuman speed. One of the bodies stirred. A female human cranes her neck up and looks at them with weak eyes.

Help...

"She's alive!" Arkletto takes three large steps towards her. "Don't worry lass. We'll get you out!" Arkletto glances at her condition. He hacks the mass of flesh on her right. Large amount of blood spurt out from the vertical wound. The human girl screamed in pain as a result.

"Make..." She said.

"What?" Arkletto leans closer to hear better. He leans back and repeated her words with confusion. "Make us whole? What-" Tentacles burst out of her chest, coiling at his hands, waist and neck. Despite how thin it looked the flesh was surprisingly strong, stopping Arkletto mid-sentence.

"Make us whole!" The girl screamed. Her voice rings across the metallic walls of the generator room. She looks at Arkletto with eyes wide with madness. "Make! Us! Whoooole!"

Suddenly her head was gone in a burst of red mist. More weapons fire and be heard from behind and the girl was torn to pieces by a series of explosions. With a heave, Arkletto tore himself off from the loose organ that held him there. "Bitch!" He cursed as he feels his neck.

But the nightmare didn't end there. More of the dead bodies woke from their slumber. At first there were moanings. The moanings became whispers. The whispers became words. The words became chants.

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

"We must hurry." Ragnar urged. "This place will become a slaughterhouse soon."

"Haha!" Sven releases the safety with a click. "Battle at last! About time these bloody things start showing up!"

Ragnar nodded "Good, looks like we get to fight on lads." turning to John. I have a Thunderhawk docked 5 levels down. However everything became lock down when the monster destroyed the bridge controls, we have no way of opening any doors risking our remaining ammunition.

"I guess that's my queue, yank me" Came Cortana, voxing thru John's helmet.

John inserted Cortana's disk into the door's wall-frame.

Cortana emerged, turned and faced the console.

Judging from the entire system, the main power is out which made the lock down permament. In order to do so we need to reactive it, main power room is 7 floors down." Said Cortana as a side entrence door hissed open.

"I was able to divert what remaning power to open that door, the bridge has it's stand alone generator but with limited functions. That door will take you down but the entire way is darkened, we won't be able to see anything. I advise you to let me stay in the system to help guide however i can."

"This spirit speaks the truth, i can feel the machine spirit in this hel hole completely silenced. It would need a rude awakening" replied Jurgen as he primed his plasma pistol.

"What are the chances of meeting more of this monsters on our journey towards our objective? Asked John

Can't say, but do not take them lightly. According to record this station and its crew were completely wiped out within 2 hrs. Catiuoned Cortana.

"Wolves we go for a HUNT!" Roared Sven

The group ventured into the Darkness at high alert, guns trained and their fingers tensed. Every ounce of sound that appears jerks the entire group.

"I bloody wish they just come out already, i am getting bloody irritated with all these anticipation" grumbled Sven.

John approached Ragnar "Does he always talk like that?"

Ragnar turned "Yes, and careful lad, remember what i told you about our keen se..."

"YOU GOT A BLOODY PROBLEM HUMAN?!" Sven roared.

Right before John could reply, Ragnar stopped the group.

"Did you hear that?"

"Sounds like wings my lord" replied Akletto as he readied his shield.

Out of the darkness came the winged monsters, dozens of them.

"Wolves! Conserve ammo, single shots!"

As on the bolter fire came in sequence, felling many of them. John fired short bursts as one tried to grip his face. The wolves were carnage in terror, when bolter fire aren't enough to finish them, their axes or swords did the rest. Slicing them cleanly in half, letting the entrails drop onto the ground. Some were smashed by their oversized bolters and blood splashed against their armor.

Jurgen mechanical arms helped protect his blindspots as if they had a mine of it's own. It's limb has a surgical attachment or mini version bolter. Grabbing one and ripping it apart while firing at another. John was still amazed at their sheer ferocity and superiority

Vkarl was having a hard time, he was the only weapon specialist, his plasma cannon was running critical with each spent shot buring through the horde, melting them like butter. With his free hand he swung his energy axe, the monsters couldn't give him suffcient breathing space to cool it and to cover his brothers. He spun and decpaitate one monster, swung his cannon and smashed right into it's decapitated body sending it crashing towards the wall.

One Infector was crawling on the ceiling, slowly towards Vkarl, using the shadow as cover. Vkarl was too occupied with two slashers, blocking one attept of piercing his skull with his plasma cannon, while disembowling the other not before crushing its head with his cremite boot. Twisting his wrist to a verticle cleave towards the other, splitting it groin to skull. The Infector lunged right as Vkral lowered his guard and it's implaler reached for his head. At the last second Vkarl blocked it with his Vembrace and the impaler went straight thru, howling in rage he smashed it to the wall and fired his plasma cannon point blank. It blasted him off his feet, several metres away from Ragnar. Ragnar saw him unconscious, armor blacken and beard roasted, more necromorphs converged on him. With a rage he swiped his blade across and sliced 3 necromorphs in half, their upper bodies still moving towards him. Ragner finished them with well placed bolt shots.

More and more were coming and the wolves bolter fires were clattering on the ground.

Sven roared "If we do not bloody move! We will get bloody swamped!" as he incinerated two more infectors.

Vkarls plasma cannon was over heating, one more shot should overload it, Ragnar thought. While doing so, Ragnar kicked the gun towards a wall and fired a burst towards it.

"If you do not want your hide to get burnt, i suggest you move away!" Warned Ragnar while dragging Vkarl to a safe zone. As one, everyone moved while covering, next heartbeat the wall exploded with bluish flames.

Ragnar did not have time for Vkarl to wake up, so he gave him a hard slapp, which seem to have woke Vkarl with a startle.

"Did you just slapped me?" Vkarl ask groggily. His eyes were still rolling.

"By Russ i did, you can't be sleeping, we need killing!, cover your hide as i pull drag your hide" Smirked Ragnar and he passed him his Bolt gun.

"WOLVES! WE ARE LEAVING!". Ragnar and Vkarl were the first thru, Vkarl blasting apart any that tried to get close. John was by the hole firing at the necromorphs as the other wolves slowly backed into it.

Jurgen came to a stop on the other side, it was a cargo bay depot. He scanned the surroundings and found a crane on the other side, fortunatly it was still holding on to a large container.

"Lord Ragnar, i found a way to seal the hole, but i require time and abit of luck. I could seal that hole to buy us some breather."

"Well whatever it takes to stop those hel spawns. Do it!"

Jurgen did not wait for reply and made his way up.

"Akletto, Zorix hold that breach!" ordered Ragnar.

John was in the opposite side firing on what made thru the defense with little ammo he has left in his Rifle, he checked his inventory, 2 spare clips and 2 frag grenades.

Vkarl was back on his feet, blacken but vicious. He added his Axe to the hold.

"This is a bloody predicament we are in" Grunted Sven. His voice tired and gnarly. "Could it bloody get any worse?"

" My lord, controls are fried, i cannot fix it." Voxed Jurgen

Ragnar looked at Sven "You had to say it"

"I guess today is where make our way to the Allfather."

Akletto was getting weary and losing focus, his left arm has three impaled thorns in it, rendering his arms useless. Zorix lost his helmet and his face had a large diagonal scar, bleeding profusely.

"Cortana, are you still there? Can u overwrite the system?" Asked John.

"What am i? A potato? Activate console." retorted Cortana

"Jurgen! Get some power into the Console so Cortana can control it!" John came infromally.

Normally such informal behavior would be backhanded by Ragnar, but at the current situation he'll let it slide.

As soon as Jurgen was done, Cortana was in the system immidietly.

"Over-riding console, 30 seconds!" You boys better move back!

The crane was directly about the hole now, and detached the container.

The wolves retreated at the very last second as it dropped on any emerging necromorphs and it sealed the hole.

They were safe.

For now...

*that's it for now, taking this time to move to Australia and starting a new life, the story will continue and new horrors will appear. Cheers!*


	2. Warhammer 40k - Dead Wolf

M41 - 2508

Feral World of Aegis VII.

Current Population - 0

Industrial Output - USG Ishimura.

Population est. - 1,332, Current - 7

Planet Cracker Barge -Class

Strategic Value - Absolute.

Deploy Capital Weaponry?

Negative

Liberation Fleet - Ordo Xenos

Accompanied by Adaptus Astartes

Acceptable - ETA 5 - 25 weeks.

"How bloody long have we been in this bloody pathetic excuse of shit ship?" growled a feral voice. Killing everthing in his range, one hand wielding Frostclaw, the other Firefang.

Moments later heavy calibur shots were fired and came screams that were beyond human.

"Just shut up and keep killing, we cannot allow them to over run us!" ordered another with strong commanding authority.

"I'll bloody punch you for that remark, let me burn these abominatons first!" came the reply and the next the hallway is filled with blazing fire.

A huge mob of monsters burnt to crisp as their screech ended.

"My Jarl, i have more incoming from the west corridor" came a voice.

"Blasted Morkai! Vkarls! reposition and plant your last melta bomb, we cannot fight on 3 fronts" came the authoritative figure."

"Affirmitive" A huge grey armored warrior lumberd with a limp towards the west corridor, he began planting his trap but huge numbers of icons were rapidly moving towards him, their screech came louder and louder. He was having a hard time as his left arm has a huge wound on it. Even with Larraman cells it was taking a slow time to heal.

"Need a hand?" came a voice behind Vkarls, it was completey human.

"Keep them off me for 2 minutes" Vkarl grinned.

"You will have it" came the respond.

The figure appears to be in full green armor, compared to the others. He turned the corner and hurled his 2 primed grenades, it bounced off the floor upon the onrushing mob, a few seconds later it detonated and blew apart the first few victims. Body organs flew apart, splattering all over the walls but it did not stop them. The green warrior fired his weapon as he made a short burst towards them, the bullets tore thru their fragile flesh, body parts were shot off, but it didnt faze them as this creatues do not know pain or fear. Upon reaching them he holsted his weapon on to his back and drew a small grip, next moment a huge purple blade shot out and he made shot work of them. Ducking and decapitating a creature, following up with a right swing, slicing a monster in half, as the upper body dropped down, he stomped on it with a twist of his boot, making sure it does not rise. A creature came up from behind unsuspectingly, but he merely ducked forward as if he had eyes behind his back and did a huge twist and slicing it from groin to head, another came from behind, the warrior quickly drew his side arm and unloaded the clips into it, the pistol appear to have mini explosive shots in it and blew the creature apart. He continued to massacre the mob, hacking, shooting and reloading. However a huge unstoppable force of a monster was smashing thru the ranks of creatures, trampling and sending them flying onto walls and eachother. He barely dodged it as it charged thru them, colliding onto a wall. It had tri horns infront, no eyes, it's body made up with harden carapce, it has two strong fore legs with two supportive hind at the back. It staggered from the impact and set it's sights toward it's prey, the warrior was ready for it this time. As the mammoth of monster charged towards him, the warrior slide below it, between is legs and stabbed his purple blade into it, slicing apart it's flesh like butter not before punching a purple orb into it. The mammoth crashed back into the mob sending more of them flying. Then came a warning.

"John! It is set! Fall back now!" It was Vkarls, he has finished setting his bomb and prompted John to retreat.

"Well time to go!" Came a voice inside John's helmet.

John nodded and sprinted back towards the hallway upon the firing Vkarls.

"You didn't slow it down?" came Vkarls

"You know i would'nt say goodbye" replied John with a grin behind his visor which Vkarls sensed.

The mammoth began to charge again but it didnt made a step when it imploded from inside with blue flame. It's entire body burst, fried organs dropped as it attempted to keep itself up right but fell dead right after still twitching. It enraged the mob further and charged again.

Vkarls and John passed the corner and upon reaching the survivors, the corridor exploded and the hallway was sealed, many creatures were caught in the blast, a huge blood puddle was leaking thru the small cracks.

Vkarls approached the commanding figure and nodded

"Jarl, task completed"

"Hmm, well done brother" grunted the figure as he cleaved a creature apart with his massive one handed sword, it's blades were of mini blades attached, with it's name FrostFang engraved in it in Ancient Fenrisian.

Heavy gun fire were coming from the east and south while a huge door was unopened at north with a another grey figure with massive mechanical arms on its back working thru the console.

"Jurgen! How much longer?' yelled the leader.

"Not long now my Jarl"

"You bloody set that 15 minutes ago!" came an annoyed voice.

"Sven! Open your mouth again, i'll leave you behind, how in the Hel did you ever escape from the Will of Eternity is a mystery to me." came the leader's reply

"Hah! and i will drag you with me Ragnar!" retorted Sven with a howl.

John came beside Ragnar and fired his rifle, carefully placing shots to conserve ammo.

"My lord! I have what appears to be a level 10 firewall encrypted defense matrix, i do not have the means to undo it!" Jurgen spatted.

"Here! Use Cortana!" Came John as he unclipped a chip behind his helmet and tossed it towards Jurgen.

Without turning around, one of Jurgen mechanical arms grabbed it and inserted it into the console.

"Hmph, easy job" came a blue figure as it appeared in the console's screen.

Seconds later the door opened with Jurgen smirking, revealing his fangs.

"I have to get me one of those"

"Sorry wolf, i am single and taken. Boys! Time to move!" yelled Cortana.

"Akletto! Zorix! Cover rear"

As one they both formed the rear guard with Sven breathing fire inbetween them. Huge bat-figures were flying towards them at high speed, they were nearly upon them until John placed well shots into them and they fell.

"I will never live the end of this, allowing a human protecting my bloody hide" came Sven

"Thank me later" came John.

The group made thru the corridor and it closed heavily, a sole creature almost made it thru until John punched his fist into its body and pulled after, his hand holding a grenade pin, before doing a round house stomp sending the creature back thru the breach as the door closed, moments later a explosion came.

"Nice goodbye package" grinned Ragnar.

"I try to impress" came John.

They made into the a power facility, what it once looked like a industrial factory, now a feeding ground of corpses, the monsters were still coming and their options are limited. In the facilty were three large pylon nods, the facility's core of power.

"Jurgen, disable those pylons, it should put these facility in security lock down" Ordered Ragnar.

"At once Jarl, think you can give his old wolf a hand, Cortana?" Winked Jurgen as he ran towards the pylons.

"Thought you'd never ask, i'm getting used to your company" replied Cortana.

A monster appears, ruining the brief mutual exchange, It climbs down the wall with its two strong hands. It had no lower body. Chief saw it and instantly unloaded a 4-shot burst to the head.

The monster kept coming.

He shoots another burst.

It still kept coming.

Master Chief went full auto. Its rotten head was shredded under the barrage.

It still kept coming! "What the... Guh!" The headless creature launches itself towards him and slammed him to the ground. It brings down its one scythed claw but Chief caught it at the last second. It stabs with the other one and Chief caught it just the same. He proceeds to throw it off of him a few paces away. A second later the creature was shredded in a series of miniature explosion from melta bolts.

"I shot off its head." Chief said.

"That would do very little, boy. You have to tear them to pieces."

Another monster came to him. This one was in full body and closed the distance by sprinting. He quickly got up, set his footing well and whips a roundhouse kick across the rib. Instead of sending the monster crashing to the wall, he actually sliced it in half across the chest with his powerful kick. Strong they may seem, but they are also brittle. More fragile than a Flood infected organism.

The lower half of the undead didn't move. The upper half was still alive. Like and overturned tortoise it struggles to get up. Master Chief quickly stomps the body repeatedly. By the time the monster finally died, it was merely a rotten meat paste on the floor.

Ineffecient, Master Chief mentally noted. It it was anything else he had fought before they would have died from the first shot.

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

Make us whole...

The chant made him feel he had narcotics overdose. It was difficult to think over the noise. He relied more on his Mjolnir's threat detection system to lock on incoming threats when he normally didn't. These corpses... These human corpses... These human corpses that morphed to monsters...

These Necromorphs.

He can hear the Necromorphs coming through the walls, crawling through the vents. Screeching and clawing on metal. Here he was again. His mind took a quick detour towards memory lane. Back towards his struggles with the numberless Flood. Their subtle clicking as the little polyps crawl on the floor with their spindly legs.

Ragnar kept digging through the flesh matter. It feels like meat, wet and sticky. His thick beard was matted with their filthy blood. And there's still more. He was halfway through when he heard sometime broke loudly. A Necromorph broke through the vents. It clumsily approaches the Astartes. Ragnar reaches for his weapon. But Chief got to it first.

He used up the remaining bullets from the first magazine on it. The armor piercing rounds simply pierce through its decaying body, hardly doing any real damage. Master Chief had expected this to happen after the first time. The barrage wasn't meant to kill it. It was mean to stun it long enough for Master Chief to get upclose and personal, he tried to activate his plasma sword but it's battery finally failed him, he tossed it aside, he threw punch to the head decapitated it. A twist on the joints took off its one arm. A pull took off the other arm. A kick sent the monster down to the floor. A crushing stomp on the chest ended it.

"You'll need a better weapon." Ragnar unclasped a weapon from his hip and throws it to Chief. "Here."

Chief looks at the weapon. It was designed like a single edged sword. When he squeezes the trigger on the hilt, the weapon roars and its teeth revs at incredible speed. When he slashed a Necromorph with it, the chainsword visciously tears through the brittle body from shoulder to groin, killing the monster instantly in a single swing and splattering gore, blood and bone everywhere.

"Excellent..." For the first time in a long time, Master Chief smiled wide behind his helmet and takes a guard stance.

His hands didn't stop digging, but Ragnar watches the boy in action. In his years of service, he had gone to war with several fine regiments of the Imperial Guard. He tries to pinpoint his origins, and failed.

He was like an amalgamate of all of them.

One moment Jon was a maelstrom of recklessness like a Cathacan Jungle Fighter. The next moment he was still and launched several perfectly timed counters upon the enemies scythed attacks like a Mordian Iron Guard. When he pulls and acrobatic display of movement and swing the sword like a Chogorian sweeping blades, he saw his White Scars cousins in him.

"Is he my equal?...No...maybe more?"

Such a facinating warrior, Ragnar remarked.

With one final wrench, Ragnar pulled the last of the flesh matter from the rod. Immediately it roared to life and slots into the housing. "One Pylon's down!" Cortana called. Ragnar jumps down from the coolant and rushed towards Vkarl to help him.

Arkletto was almost finished. A Necromorph crawled up the ceiling. The Space Wolf didn't notice it. It snarled and released its grip and drops directly on Arkletto's back. "Gah! You bastard son of a Grox!" He reached behind and grabs the monster to meet it in its milky white eyes in the front. The monster had lost it's jaws and lower body. It thrashed in his grip on it's spine-tail. The monster swipes Arkletto on the head several times and broke its fingers instead of harming him.

Arkletto was wearing his helmet.

Hate filled his heart for the beast. Arkletto grabs the monster's head tight and push it down until it sinks all the way into its own chest before ripping it in two. Then some more climbed onto his back.

"Gah!" Somewhere in his peripheral, he saw a brother in blue armor. His helm displays the rune belonged to Zorix. "Zorix!"

Zorix's mind kept playing back the death of Arngeir. He kept thinking back what he could have done to prevent that fate. His mind wandered further back. Back when they are still a whelping Aspirant. He remembered meeting Arngeir. Though not like Sven, his toothy grin was enough to have Zorix's fist hammering into his face. They fought for hours that first time until one of them was sober enough to realize how foolish it is to continue on. It was when they first laughed together that their bond was made. The three of them.

They fought together.

They ate together.

They drink and get drunk together.

They became Vlka Fenryka together.

"Zorix! Brother!"

Zorix snapped out of his Red-dream. He saw his brother being overwhelmed. "Arkletto!" His body moved before his mind could command it. His ruined right arm sends jolt of pain of dislocation, but he ignored it. With his good left arm, Zorix grips the hilt tight and swings high. Arkletto ducks and the Necromorph on his top took the brunt of it and was sliced from across the ribs. Zorix makes a diagonal slash from upper right. Arkletto twists his body in parallel with the lethal arc of the blade, missing his chest just barely. But the Necromorph that had clambered there were smashed to pieces by the power sword.

Zorix came again and again. For outsiders, it looked as if a Wolf had turned traitor and attacks his brother. But in reality Zorix was clearing the twice dead for his brother in distress.

"Arkletto!" With that single word they toss their weapon to each other. Now Arkletto holds the Zwihander and Zorix holds the power axe. They became a whirlwind of death, sweeping the rest of the Necromorph in the vicinity. Arkletto quickly clears the last of the flesh matter and the coolant rod slots home. "Second coolant's secure, my Jarl!" He turns to Zorix. "I thought I lost you, brother." Said Arkletto, his tone rich in emotion.

"We both lost someone dear. I will not lose another one again. Not here!"

Master Chief glanced at the Grey Wolf in action. Such perfect coordination is almost a stuff of dreams, even among his Spartan breed. He focus back into the fight. The chanting of the humans continues. The memories of the past meshed with the present. He saw the numberless Flood in the shadows roaring after him. Every now and then he glances on the floor half heartedly expecting a Flood polyp snuck on his blind side and attack him.

He remembered that all too well. He was bred to fight bigger enemies, able to withstand greater injuries but utterly useless to the Flood's invasive nervous penetration. He would surely be added to the ranks of the Flood if it wasn't for Cortana.

Then the reactor room exploded in white light.

"Last Pylon clear, my Jarl." Said Jurgen calmly.

With the last Pylon disrupted, the entire facility went into complete lock down as Ragnar predicted, was it luck? Maybe, but at the current situation, he'll take what he can get. Cortana then redirected sufficient power to one pylon and it surged to life. Power surged to the essential parts of the Barge. Specifically the path towards the escape ship. The surge blown out many of the light bulbs but there are plenty more left to leave the room bright as the afternoon desert sun.

"I opened an escape path! Window's closing fast! " Came Cortana and she shimmered into full figure.

"Affirmative! Brothers! On me! Tactical retreat!" Shouted Ragnar.

"Hey, don't leave me behind!" Cortana yelled at Jurgen.

"Never, honorable spirit." With a flex of his thoughts Jurgen motions his utility mechadendrite to eject Cortana's shockproof chip. "We have much to discuss back at the barge!" He said with childlike excitement, a behaviour unbecoming of one that has trained with the secrets of the Omnissiah. But how is one can contain their excitement when meeting with ancient technology?

"We must move! Or we'll get bloody swamped in this coffin"

One of the winged Necromorph crawled up to the ceiling. For the sake of what little cover that was left in the brightly lit chamber it had forego its flight ability. It sets is sights on the price: A large posthuman warrior carrying a lethal cannon.

Even with the immense weight of Morcai, Vkarl was quite comfortable carrying it around. Decades of experience had adapted him to fight with the weapon regardless of the range. Being the oldest and the wisest, he is more observant.

Despite coming in various shape and sizes, there is some uniformity in the creatures. Some still resembled adult humans but had their arms turned into brutal scythes of bone and marrow. These are the most numerous.

Those that lost their lower body tend to grow lethal spines that is as hard as your regular spear.

He noticed that there are even children amongst the horde. They are smaller, with smaller claws. But they are strong enough to pull his head off his neck if he let them. He know. He felt their strong grip when one held onto his knee.

All of them attacked at him with the simplicity of Orks. It was easy to read. Vkarl chosed his two nearest targets, a pair of adult Necromorphs. He blocks one who attempted to pierce his skull with his plasma cannon while stomp kicks the other on the chest and stomps at it as soon it fell to the floor. He open his right hand into a knife and chops vertically on the first, cleaving it in two from head to groin. There was no way of coming back from that.

The winged creature was observing the Astartes all the time. When it saw the opportunity it lunges from the ceiling down, its elongated spike shot out to deliver the killing blow. Suddenly the large human spins around and caught it on its lethal sting. The posthuman looks at it with a smile. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... So close, yet so far."

Vkarl aims his plasma cannon at what he thinks is the monster's face. It trashed and clawed at his thick vambrace desperately, as if it knew its impending doom when Morcai begins to glow blue brighter and brighter. A useless attempt. "Farewell, xeno." A bolt of blue energy shot out. It killed the monster at point blank and impacted at one of the ventilation shaft turning it into molten slag, preventing more Necromorphs from entering. "I won't miss you though."

Jurgen passes Cortana back to Chief. The group comes together in an ever tightening half ring, converging towards the exit. As soon as the now live door closes on the last member of the group, Ragnar gives it a side kick. It dented badly, and won't be admitting anyone soon.

"It's not going to hold for a long time." Chief said.

"Long enough. Move!" Ragnar shouted and in a single file, the group sprinted through the claustrophobic corridor, with Sven taking the lead and Chief behind him. "Out of my bloody way!" He shouted as he rams through Necromorphs like a freight train, the rest of them crushing them to mulch under their boots as they backtracked to the elevator. They reached it just in time to see the service elevator stopping at their floor.

With a fat Necromorph on board.

Sven breathes in deep and lets out a stream of flame. The fat Necromorph roared in pain cleansing fire burns its naked flesh. Fat and smaller creatures fell off from it like wax from a candle. It thrashed around the elevator, wrecking the the contraption. The elevator's cabling snapped it fell under the necromorph's tremendous weight.

"Oh that smarts." Sven muttered.

"Sven!" Ragnar yelled at him right on cue.

"It's not going to fit all of us anyway, Jarl." Vkarl stated.

"How are we going to go up?" Arkletto looks at Zorix.

"What. Happens. In. This. Ship. Stays. In. This. Ship." Zorix muttered in monotone.

"Peace, brother." Arkletto said. "Your secret's safe with me. Along with a few more of your embarrassing past." Arkletto chuckled.

"A keg from your secret Mjød stash, brother," Sven grunted. "And I will not say a bloody thing."

Seeing no other options to ascend, the only option left is to climb. Ragnar being the leader takes the lead. Followed by Chief and Jurgen. Vkarl was at the bottom. Sven, Arkletto and Zorix was in between all of them. With Zorix's injured arm, he would be far too slow to climb so Arkletto and Sven assists. However carrying him up by his arms is a surefire way for amputation.

After much debate but mostly shouting, Zorix had to endure the indignity of being carried up by the legs, upside down. It was both comical and embarrassing.

"This is a perfect place for a bloody ambush." Sven said. At that moment, all of them heard the primal roar of the Necromorphs through the vents and saw some of them climbing up from the bottom.

"Next time, Sven... Shut your trap!" Ragnar instinctively reaches for his bolt pistol but realised that it was completely dry. Then he heard the bark of autogun from Chief. His well placed shots dislodged the creatures from the elevator walls, causing them to fall all the way back down.

A Necromorph bursts out from the vent behind Chief. Its scythed arm stabs at him but was instantly bounced away. The impact point that is his right shoulder flashed yellow energy, stopping the lethal blow from connecting. In a span of a single heartbeat, Chief maglocks his Assault Rifle, grabs the Necromorph with that same hand and pulls it out of the vents.

By instinct, Ragnar cleaves the falling undead in two. The two posthuman warriors looked at each other and gave each other a curt nod before resume the climb. While hanging upside down, Zorix unholstered his bolter and fires downwards in single shot. One after another, the Necromorphs bursts red mists of blood and bone.

The more he fires, the more of them coming at them all. Vkarl who was at the bottom of the group didn't seem concerned hundreds of Necromorph wanted to have a piece of him. All he did was avoiding them, while telling the young Zorix to stop firing as he jumps from one elevator wall to another.

"Stop firing." He jumps to the other wall. "Clear that side, Zorix." And Zorix would fire several bursts on the side mentioned. Behind his back Morcai growled at peak charge. Vkarl stops climbing. His left hand grips the wall with titanic pressure until it dents to the shape of his hand. His right hand unslings Morcai and aims down. And fires. The bolt of blue plasma shot down at the rising foe, burning them to ash with explosion of energy.

The action was repeated three more times until Morcai cried in his helmet with the blinking red [OVERLOAD] message. "Getting too hot, my friend? Whoops." He ejected the final plasma reactor out and it falls to the dark depths of living cadavers. He watches it burning brighter and brighter with unstable energy as it falls far.

"Hmm." Vkarl's reaction was an uninteresting shrug and keeps climbing. "I never been this clumsy before." A second later, the reactor exploded tearing the bottom of the elevator into pieces and killing almost every Necromorphs coming after him. What Morcai's overloaded reactor didn't kill, Zorix finished them off.

Even after all that, Vkarl didn't even bother to look at his handiwork.

(Editor's Note: Badasses don't look back at explosions)

Through little challenge, the Wolves, Master Chief and Cortana made it back to the hangar departure.

"The way's clear! Let's move it people!" Cortana ordered.

"They can't here you." John said as he run after the giants.

"I knew that." Cortana said.

The airlock door opens with a smooth grind. Ragnar saw the Thunderhawk landed on the hangar. "There it is! Get on board, brothers! You too, lad!" Heavy power boots thundered on the floor, denting it with their footprints as they sprinted towards the ship.

Suddenly, it exploded. The bright light stung John's eyes before his visor darkens to compensate for its radiance. Sparks and metal flew in all direction as fire consumes the midsection of the destroyed ship. "What in the bloody name of..." Sven trailed off.

They all saw the reason for the ship's destruction.

:

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:

Outside USG Isimura, a huge hole opened in to realspace. Unnatural violet lighting sparked at the lip. Within the hole was a riot of colour spread like oil on water. Within that hole eyes belonged to nothing that should have existed stared into the void of space. Their maw opened as if wanting to consume it. Their claw stretched, wanting to claw at it. But their efforts was all for naught.

A single ship was vomited out of the hole. Its hull was pristine and lined with gold. It was a city in space. But this city carries no normal citizen within its thousands of decks. Its no merchant ship either. Its broadsides were equipped with lethal macro cannon, built by the best the Imperium can offer. It was not Imperial navy ship either. A skull and a stylised "I" was situated on the front side of the ship, designating it as one of the Inquisition.

"Target located, Lord Inquisitor Javier" Came a robotic monotone voice.

"Very well, navigator." Replied the man in question. Inquisitor Javier was a large, well built man. He was cloaked in black robes with a long sabre strapped on his right hip. On the left, was a standard Imperial issue leather strap carrying a nonstandard Necron pistol. He stand straight in the command bridge, hands clasped behind his back as he surveys his surroundings.

"It appears all the efforts have come to fruition." A smile came across his face. "Locate possible entry points." Javier commanded eagerly.

"Locating." The naval staff replied.

"Inquisitor, what is your motive upon this ship? It is but another dead spacehulk is it not?" Came a low voice behind in the shadows, its question hinting accusations below the surface.

"There is an artefact of great power within that spacehulk. And it is to be extracted AT ALL COSTS." Came the quick reply, plainly filled with annoyance.

"Would this artefact be of use to the Imperium or it has been touched by Chaos?"

"I do not answer to you, BladeBreaker. You are to follow me with the detachment of Deathwatch to secure the artefact safely or else be deemed Excommunicate Traitoris." Javier spun around to meet the gaze of the Astartes. There was no fear in the inquisitor's smaller form at all. "By the will of the Emperor, it will be done. Do you understand?"

The huge figure, still in the shadow remained silent. He remained there like a large statue before finally turned away from the bridge without a word.

"Any life forms?" A brief question came as Javier returns his attention to the bridge.

"Scanning." Several heartbeats passed and came an answer. "Yes my lord, I detect several life forms on the ship. It appears they are in motion." The crew added.

"I see." Javier merely said. "Ignore them."

The man turns around. "But, my Lord-"

"I said, IGNORE them." Javier interrupted with a commanding voice.

"... Yes, Lord Inquisitor." The man slowly replied and quietly return to work.

:

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:

Walking through the battlebarge corridors, the figure was clearly in questions and annoyed, he walked past a few serfs, with them scurrying away from his path. He came across a corner to meet another similar figure, but his armor was coated in cobalt blue with a large U shape on his shoulder guard with marking of "II" on the other. With him bear a Ancestral relic power sword of great swordsmanship.

"What troubles you brother?"

"Inquisitors. Always full of secrecy."

A snort came from the blue figure. "Ironic coming from a Grey Knight such as yourself, though it begs me to wonder why are you alone without your squad?"

"I was tasked by Grand Master Vardan Kai to understand my full potential, a ritual of sorts."

"Hmm. Such a shame. It would be more assuring to have a few more of you. Though I believe I can still out-kill your victims."

"Hmph, you are not one skilled with jest are you, Sicarius?" Replied Blade Breaker. He took no offence in it. It was all in his voice. Before the Ultramarine could reply, a robotic announcement came though the vox speakers. "Reaching spacehulk in 5 minutes, all combat personal, report to hangar bay 6 and prepare for disembarkation."

Sicarius donned on his helmet and voxed his men. "Brothers, report to the hangar in full gear."

"Well Hyperion, time to go to work." Said Sicarius.

In the dark, a lone figure was sitting on top of containers. His armor as black as the darkness, his left pauldron bearing the Inquisiton Mark, while his right, a Raven Guard Insignia. On his right knee bearing the mark of First Company Veteran, The Blackwings. One hand was holding a short dagger, tipped with a jagged raven's beak, another was a Gladius, it's grip tip resembles the Raven Guard Insignia, it's guard a single wing. His eyes watching both Astartes walking towards the hanger, oblivious of his existence. Only when he sharpen his dagger with his Gladius did Hyperion sensed his presence, he stopped at his tracks and turned his head. It took several heartbeats for Hyperion to determine his location, as he did he smirked under his helmet.

"Never did understood how you are able to that, even to a Grey Knight, are you ready Brother Vrex?"

Vrex merely nodded and disappeared like smoke.

Hyperion lost sight of him and just shook his head and followed Sicarius.

In the hangar came two squads of five space marine squads. Standing at attention with their banner holding aloft over. In between the squad came a figure clad in black armour with a skull helmet. His charismatic aura filled the bay, the battle brothers of all chapter fell to their knees and head bowed in his chants. He walked to one Astartes to another, touching their pauldron as he spoke each litanies of their home chapter to each of those present, such is the way of a Chaplain. He always appreciate the presence of Chaplains within his missions. Sicarius walked softly, quietly as to not disturb this sacred moment. He stand a few paces from the gathering to wait for the Chaplain to finish.

"What is you Duty?" The Chaplain asked.

To serve the Emperor's Will. They all answered back.

"To serve the Emperor's Will?"

That we fight and die.

"What is Death?"

It is our Duty.

They repeat, And repeat. And repeat again for the hundredth time like a mantra. Finally, the warriors stand as one. Their bolters clutched on their chests with renewed conviction and their soul aflame with righteous fury. The black figure turned and bowed in respect to Sicarius' Authority.

"My lord, your men are ready." Said the Chaplain, his voice filtered through his death mask, amplified to carry his voice through the din of battle.

Sicarius returned the respect. "It is an honour to have you with us, Grimaldus, Hero of Helsreach and High Chaplain of the Black Templars." Greeted Sicarius.

"The honour is mine. Any news on where... or what we are heading into?"

"None," came Hyperion from behind Sicarius. "The damn Inquisitor didn't bother to tell a single thing."

"I share your sentiment, my Grey Knight cousin." Astartes fight like a pack of wolves. They work together to survive the elements. Such cooperation called for trust. And trust is the core essence of all Astartes. But the Inquisitors. They worked in the shadows, manipulate others with lies and tricks. Very much like the deceiving serpent from old Terran legend. "I do not like this one bit as well. We're thrust into an unknown battle, with no information at all, and only the blessed God-Emperor knows what we will find in there." Blade Breaker looks at the squad of Ultramarine that gathered. "Where is your Apothecary?"

The airlock behind him hissed open. The unmistakable colour of white armor walk through to the hangar with the insignia of Ultramar on one pauldron and the symbol of the double helix on the other. "Sorry, guys. I was doing some last minute calibration check with my dendrites." Said the almost human cheerful face of the Astartes. "What did I miss?" He asked.

"Brother Tendo. You've missed brother Grimaldus' blessings." Sicarius replied warmly.

"Oh, well that's a shame."

"No, no. I always have time for a brother left out." Grimaldus strode to Tendo. Tendo wanted to object but in the face of a Chaplain, he hesitated. He have enough 'little heresies' lining up in his service records as it is. He was about to bow when Inquisitor Javier arrived to the hangar in with his retinue of body guards, the Kaskrin. Elite of the elite that was drawn from the military pool of Cadia.

"If you haven't wasted enough time, lets get a move on." Spat the Inquisitor without even looking at them as he walked into one of the Thunderhawk with purposeful strides.

Grimaldus was quiet but his red eye lenses followed the Inquisitor. Those who knew the Chaplain can easily tell he was clearly unhappy with the disrespectful tone of the man.

"Sure thing, Lord Tight Ass." Tendo muttered at the Inquisitor.

"What's that?" Javier spun around at the word.

"I said we're on a tight ass schedule." He grins at the Inquisitor who didn't reply his friendliness warmly. The Inquisitor snorted and enters the ship. To his expense, Tendo has his vox Astartes channel. There were audible stifled laugh from his battle brothers. And Grimaldus himself. "Childish act." He noted on his low blow.

"For a man of childish ambition."

"Oh? You seem be well acquainted with Javier."

"No. But I am an Apothecary. Psychological evaluation is part of my vocation and my passion."

:

:

:

"2 minutes on approach." Called the Thunderhawk's pilot. Even in a separate ship, Grimaldus the Black Templar Chaplain continued chanting his righteous litany. He made use of the vox to broadcast to the neighbouring transport ship. Every member of the Deathwatch, and by extension the Kaskrin appreciated his every words. These are words from a hero who roused men, women and children to defend Helsreach as if the Emperor was on their backs.

Only the inquisitor, who was situated nearest to the pilot was annoyed at the incessant chant. Sicarius who sits farthest noticed Javier glowered every now and then in annoyance. His grip on his flight harness tightens at his continued disrespect.

Then he noticed the person sitting opposite of him. He was an Astartes himself, but he wears only simple armor similar to Imperial carapace armor. His head was shaven bald and bears slightly heavy facial hair. A Stalker Pattern Bolter was strapped at his hip. Even though he wore his battle helm, the old scout simply shakes his head. Just let it go boy, he seem to say knowing exactly how he felt. Sicarius nodded in response and almost instantly his mind was calm. Every Ultramarine, even a great hero such as Sicarius himself felt humbled by the presence of Torias Telion. What Javier was about to say next didn't affect him anymore.

"This should be a simple task." Javier voxed to every Deathwatch present. "Astropaths have informed me that the space hulk we are approaching appeared into Imperial space not long ago. Within that ruined ship is an alien artefact of significant power. The Inquisition had sanction this mission to retrieve the artefact for proper and thorough disposal."

Blade Breaker knew this well. An artefact be it of alien or Chaos origins holds untold powers. To understand their mechanism is to invite madness and corruption. More often than not, a simply burning or smashing such artefacts wouldn't be enough to banish its influence. Perhaps this is where Grand Master Vardan Kai wanted to test him. "Where is the artefact located, Lord Inquisitor? And what does it look like?" He asked.

"We don't know either." Javier admitted honestly. "I'm confident that you will know when you see it, Grey Knight. That's why you will be following me and my retinue to the ship's bridge. As for the others... Sicarius take your squad to search at the northern part to the barracks, find any clues about the ship. Grimaldus, you take your squad to the south towards the life support.

"Any resistance?" All heads turned to the stranger's voice. Like all of them his armor was painted black save for his one pauldron that was yellow with the proud insignia of the Raven Guard. Vrex is apart of the Deathwatch squad but he scarcely speak. His presence barely exists even at close proximity. The Kaskrin and even some of the Astartes was almost sure that Vrex's seat was empty the whole time. Until he spoke.

"We detect none." Javier answered. "But regardless, the ship MUST remain intact with minimal damage. Top priority is to secure the ship. Any mistakes will be issued as penalty of death. Understood?"

As one, the green notifications popped up acknowledging.

"Very good. Let us carry out our respective duties. Pilots, take us in." At the inquisitor's command, the 2 Thunderhawks break formation.

"Sicarius. My squad has reached the entry point." He voxed. As soon as they disembarked, Sicarius felt the need to free his weapons. There were mutilated bodies everywhere. Tendo was in his element. His optic lenses whirred and clicked at varying degrees of focus. His mini-dendrites moved with much speed that it looked like a colony of worms writhing under the fires of the hot sun, examining one of the corpse. "Subject is human. Sustained a large cut wound at the abdominal across. Rough mutilation from the shape of the wound. Possible dull edged weapon. Necrosis period: 3 to 4 days." He concluded and moved on to briefly check on the other bodies.

"Brother Tendo?" Sicarius called. "Report."

Tendo merely nodded and holds up one finger. "One moment, Brother-Captain. Just a few more checks." Once Tendo was satisfied, he returns to his captains side. "Those are some weird looking wound marks." He muttered.

"Explain weird, brother Apothecary."

"It resembles a lot of the Tyranids."

"So we have Tyranid foes taking sanctuary in this wreck." One Deathwatch brother of the Salamander chapter called, Zelkir, approached a body hanging from the ceiling and brought his lit flamer towards it to examine.

"That's what I thought as well brother. But if it were the Tyranid I would think that the Astropaths of the Inquisition would have felt it by now; the shadow across the Warp."

"You know about this phenomenon?" Asked Sicarius.

"Just what was recorded in the annals of Ultramar."

"I believe it's not the genestealers as well." Brother Torias Telion said. "Our Grey Knight brother would have sensed it by now."

"A xeno filth that resembles the Tyranid then." Said Zelkir. "Permission to burn the corpses, captain."

Sicarius nodded. "Small burst only. Conserve ammunition. This still has the stench of Chaos."

"Noted Captain". Zelkir proceeded to burn all decomposing bodies as they explore deeper into the wreck.

"Brother Torias, scout ahead and report possible enemy position."

"Aye Captain." Telion disappears like a ghost as his camo cloak activates.

The squad kept close with each other. They walked cautiously with bolters trained at every dark corner. Tendo stops and turns to the wall on his left. There are writings in blood on it. The last letter written trailed off to a severed hand on the floor. "Inquisitor Tight Ass would love to see this." He blink clicked his lens to take a pict of the scribbling.

"To understand Chaos is to invite madness, brother Tendo." Zelkir said.

"I don't think it's Chaos. There may be a lot of dead bodies. But it didn't looked like the random voodoo sacrificial shit."

"How can you tell?"

"Well some of the nicer Interrogators of the Ordo Malleus showed me picts of past cases relating to Chaos." Interrogators are apprentice that was placed under the tutelage of an Inquisitor. "In a warded room and a warded mind of course, bro."

"Bro?" Zelkir asked. "What is that?"

"Hah. Just the short form of 'brother'." Tendo smiles. "Saying that sounded cooler."

"Cooler? Saying 'bro' would reduce the surrounding temperature?"

"No!" Tendo quipped. "It's just an expression. Saying 'bro' is like a pet term or a nickname to your battle brothers to describe that unique closeness between you and them. A better word. A more intimate word. A cooler word. Get it?"

"I think I do." In truth Zelkir wasn't quite sure. He had mingled with Captain Sicarius within the training arena where the good captain had warned brother Zelkir of Tendo's eccentricity.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the cultist's love letter to the Chaos gods looks starkly different from these ones."

"Captain." Telion's voice came through next.

"Speak, brother."

"I'm further down the corridor. You must come see this." Under Telion's suggestion, Sicarius' team moved faster and with purpose to his position where he knelt on the floor looking on a corpse. Almost immediately Sicarius knew what Telion is going to say.

"Vicious wounds from bolt rounds and power swords." he said. Says another battle brother from the Crimson Fist chapter, Dijakl. "It appears someone was here before us."

Sicarius halted the squad and formed a circle. He went for his Vox instantly, "Brother Grimaldus, did you went past the engine room's corridor?"

"Negative Captain, still proceeding towards the reactors, we saw multiple mutilated bodies." Grimaldus voice filled with disgust. "Is something wrong?"

"No, we came across bodies done in by power weapons and bolter rounds. We thought it might've been you."

"No Captain. Proceed with caution. Those who are loyal to the Emperor aren't the only ones that wield power weapons and bolters."

"Indeed, be on your guard."

"And you Captain. Emperor protects." The vox went dead.

Sicarius switched to long range public vox channel. He hesitated for a while. It was a risk to do so as this would give out their position to an enemy. No matter, he told to himself. He had one of the Imperium's best scouts in his squad. If there is any sign of danger, they would be the first to know and be ready. The action would also double as a trap, setting themselves as bait to lure out their foes from hiding before they can ensnare them into it. "Any Emperor Astartes within this vicinity? This is Captain Sicarius of the Second Company of the Ultramarines."

He waited several heartbeats for a response, but none came. He tried again. "Any Astartes within this vicinity? This is Captain Sicarius of the Ultramarines 2nd Company, in command of Death Watch Team Zeta-"

"Sicarius? Is it you?" A voice came interrupting his. Surprised coated its tone. "What in the Morkai's Hel teeth are you fucking doing here? No forget that I don't bloody care, what is your position"? Came a hectic response. He can hear intense battle in the background. It momentarily set his second heart to beat. Not out of fear. Ultramarines know no fear. Just a heightened sense.

"Identify yourself." Sicarius demanded sharply.

"This is Ragnar of the Space Wolves. Spare all introduction! We are in a tight mess! What's your position?" Ragnar repeated with much urgency. In the background came wolves howling and bolters firing.

Gabriel, an Exorcist Chapter marine turned, "Space Wolves?"

"Noted. We are located at the aft section of the space hulk near the thrusters, we are making our way towards the Barracks, looking for any survivors. Brother Ragnar are you in contact with the enemy?"

"What in Hel do you think we are killing? Of course we did! We are in docks hanger! We are cut off and stuck here! We need assistance immediately! We are severely low on ammunition and wounded are piling up!"

"How many of you are there?"

"Half a squad and what appears to be a Kaskrin soldier harbouring a living AI."

"Run that again Ragnar?"

"A human!" Now are you gonna..." The response was cut of and more bolter fire came.

"Teeth of Russ, you have our position! Either you help us or we die!"

"Standby Ragnar, we are on the way." He cuts the link and opens another one instantly.

"Inquisitor Javier, we made contact with a squad of Space Wolves. They are in need of assistance. We are diverting our course to assist them."

"Negative." Came the cold response which made Sicarius stop his tread dead in its tracks.

"We are to let them die?"

"They are not of our concern, they are not suppose to even be here. Not to mention they have gene defects and a history which the Inquisition have not forgotten. They sunk their teeth at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sicarius was dead silent. Surprise and disbelief stapled his mouth shut.

"You are to stay your course otherwise be deemed Excommunicate Traitoris."

Now Sicarius speaks. His voice was low, like the growling of a dangerous animal. "You dare use that tone on me?"

"Yes I dare. Now stay your course, Ultramarine." The vox got cut off. Sicarius turned to his brothers and they were looking back at him.

"What's the verdict?" Came a reponse of the Celestial Lion chapter, T'chaka.

"The inquisitor will not allow us to save them."

"Damn that inquistor, he damned my Chapter once." came T'chaka.

"Fuck his orders, Sicarius." Tendo said. "Our cousin needs our help."

"We are entitled to his orders, else risk Excommunicate Traitoris."

All space marines became tense as that term came out of Sicarius.

"Excommunicate Traitoris." Tendo snorted. "He's a real fan of that word, huh? I am starting to like that guy less and less already."

"I know how you feel, brother Tendo. We have our orders, to proceed from the engine thrusters to the bridge in search for the alien artefact." Within his helm the Ultramarine captain smiles. "However, he did not give us specific orders on how to make our way to the bridge, and I didn't tell him the location of the Space Wolves. And according to Ragnar, they have a living AI."

"Aye Aye?" Came Gabriel.

"AI. It's an acronym for Artificial Intelligence or Machine Spirit in Gothic term." Tendo explained. If our cousin Ragnar is fiercely defending this construct, it could be very important."

"Are you saying what I think you are saying? Came the Blood Angel, Arkhon, with a smile.

"No, brother Arkhon. I'm simply following Inquisitor Javier's orders. We are to proceed to the Barracks... while passing by the hangar bay. We just say that we saved brother Ragnar who we met by coincidence while we are on the way."

"Oooh." Tendo said.

"Oooh." Sicarius repeated with a nod.

As one, they bowed their heads and saluted.

"Right, let's go save those wolves" Grinned Sicarius.

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Grimaldus had just ended the Vox with Captain Sicarius when a battle brother approaches him. His armor was fully black as his own. On his right pauldron was a pair of yellow scythes crossing each other in an 'X' indicating him as the Scythes of the Emperor. His weapon of choice was a power axe and a Bolt pistol. Unlike many of them, his weapon bears no remarkable features or functions. A well balanced warrior, a common sight from a chapter who hailed from the Ultramarines Legion.

"Who was on the vox, brother Chaplain?"

"It was Captain Sicarius, Brother Navius. He voxed to inform us that that came into contack with bodies butchered by power weapons and bolter fire. He assumed that it was us."

"Except that we were never near their position at all." Navius concluded for Grimaldus.

"You are correct."

"So, we are not alone?" Came another voice. This battle brother has the insignia of a white skull in a black circle within an white 12-pointed ring. Another son of Guilliman but of the Novamarines Chapter, Brother Partosis holds the stature as his chapter's champion, wielding a black sword can large tower chain shield, its size allowing him to cover himself completely, its thickness allowing him to withstand even a shell from a Leman Russ battle tank

"What could be in this throne forsaken space hulk?" Came yet another son of Guiliman but of the Genesis chapter. On his red pauldron, his insignia was a black bordered, upside down triangle of white with a black upside down 'V' on top. His name was Adraino.

"An artifact of grave importance to the Inqusition, as was stated in the mission briefing. At any rate, we have ourselves an unknown party aboard this ship. Weapons out, brothers. We'll never know if we run into-

"My Lord Chaplain! Auspex indicates multiple presence!" It came from a rearguard battle brother of the Minotaurs Chapter, Maxion. His voice was spiced with much urgency.

"How many?" The Chaplain asks.

"It's a swarm! Their bodies deformed like the plague walkers of Nurgle himself! How should I engage, my lord Chaplain?" Came Larx, brother of the Doomed Eagles, another rear guard.

Grimaldus was in a tight spot, but trusted his instincts and said the word that brought reckoning. A single word instead of his habitual exclamations of the litany of death to the enemy.

"Fire!"

Less than a second later, the room was filled with the cacophony of explosion as Maxion's Heavy Bolter roars to life. A hail of heavy bolt rounds tear through their foes, saturating the air with smoke and mists of decayed blood across the hallway. Maxion's vox transmitted the inhuman scream of that rattled Grimaldus' vox.

But Brother Larx's voice was even louder while even firing his storm bolter. "Die Xenos! I am the Wrath of the Emperor and your death! Woe betide!" More xeno death screams came through that made Grimaldus' twin heart sing. But his reason wasn't overwhelmed by his passion. Not after Armageddon. When he reached the rear, it was instantly clear that the skirmish isn't going in their favour. As impressive Maxion's slaughter can be, their numbers didn't slack nor cease. He was about to join Maxion when a huge xenos creature impaled its huge claw through the heavy bolter's muzzle and the Minotaur himself with him still roaring in defiance as he was hoisted into the air. Larx tried to aid his brother, but in doing so opened his rear to the xenos in which the swarmed over him, Larx fought to the end, spewing curses at the xenos as they ripped his body apart. With a final sharp talon piercing his eye socket, ending his voice.

Maxion saw Larx death and lets go of his main weapon. It was dead weight now. He unplugs a Krak grenade from his waist and… it was too late. Grimaldus watched as his Minotaur battle brother's head rolled towards him, decapitated by the attacking brute. The grenade hangs loose from dead hands, its safety ring still in Maxion's thumb. A a second later, it exploded spraying shrapnel of twisted metal from itself and the ruined heavy bolter point blank into its deformed face. A large crozius smashed squarely into its chest soon after, killing the creature for good this time. "Emperor watch over you, Brother Maxion and Brother Larx…" Grimaldus said solemnly. He unslings his plasma pistol.

"Brothers! No remorse! No quarter! Annihilate the Emperor's foe! CHARGE!"

Adraino kept his distance from the melee. He shoulders his stalker bolter and provide forward cover. Two xenos came at Grimaldus with large impalers. He crack shot them both on the head. Their head exploded in red mist. He was about to switch targets when he saw it. They are still standing. Still walking, blindly swinging their scythe at the general location of one of his battle brothers.

He tries to fire again but said brother is in his sights. Grimaldus. "Grimaldus! Behind you!" In a split second Grimaldus spun around. He swings his crozius once, swatting their blind and straightforward assault away. He swings again, sending both bodies flying and smashed to a pulp on the wall. Grimaldus takes aim and fires searing hot energy to the chest of an oncoming bloated xenos. It did not go down. Or rather, it shrug off the attack like an Ork does. "Come on, xenos!" Grimaldus was about to charge at it like a Black Templar he is when he saw a salvo of stalker bolts pierced its underbelly. It exploded, wholly staining Grimaldus' power armor with gore and foul stench that even his helm cannot filter out completely.

"Chaplain! They do not go down with headshots! We must take them out by destroying their bodies!" Screamed Adraino through the vox.

"Duly noted, brother! You heard him, everyone! Disembowel them all!" At the revelation, the Astartes alters their tactics slightly. Instead of going for the head, they were now smashing the main body asunder. The Space Marine turn from losing ground to holding ground. Adraino nodded to himself. The revelation has helped them all. Xeno crashed down from the vents. It saw and determined that the stalker bolter wielding Astartes to be its prey and creeps up to him. Adraino couldn't hear it coming over the din of battle. When it comes close enough it broke off into a sprint. Adraino saw the fiend at the last moment and parried its impaler arm with his weapon. The foul xeno manage to pierce his stalker bolter, just like Brother Maxion's heavy bolter. Adraino cursed under his helmet for allowing this simple creature sneak this close to him without his knowledge and ruin his sacred weapon.

He did a low sweep, smashing its legs as easily as if it was a mere child. The xeno fell, and the same boot came down crushing his chest. It lets out a bestial roar as it claws on his greaves. Adraino can see that this was no animalistic roar of pain, but a deep desire to kill. Adraino could no longer endure looking at this embodiment that is affront to the perfection of man. He unholster his bolt pistol and repeatedly fired on its ugly face until it struggled no more. He turns to regard his vanguard brothers. The fight was a stalemate. He draws his sword and joins them in the slaughter, up close and personal.

Partosis is a ferocity of a champion, he is in the thickest of battle, twisting like a tornado. His tower chain-shield was modified by his request to allow him to switch between vertical or horizontal. On vertical, his Chain-shield blocks a massive grotesque fist. He instantly responded and pushed forward making the xenos off balance and cleaved it down from head to groin, killing it.

He switches his chain-shield to horizontal and backhands an approaching monster from his left. The impact made the creature bent horribly backwards, its spine broken. Any living creature would have died then and there but not these foul xenos. It was trying to recover but Partosis cuts it in half from the groin to the shoulder. The roughly divided body flopped to the ground like a wet clothes with its innards spilling out. One side of its body remains inert. The other side weakly claw its way to him. He pays it no mind and casually step on top of it, the massive weight of himself crushing the creature flat. His mind on the next series of foes. In a single second, he mag locks his black sword and throws a primed grenade rolling towards the oncoming horde, blowing them up in to pieces.

"These are not of normal foes. They do not feel fear nor pain but yet fragile." Came Partosis, disgust and vile in his voice.

"Stay alert brother! Their strength lies in their numbers! Do not underestimate them!" replied Brother Navius, voice filled with stress. He was grappling with a creature resembling a crawling toddler with long limbed tentacles sticking out from its back. It had its tentacles slowly coiling around the warrior's waist. He had the child-thing by the throat with his right while using his power axe on his left to fend off another impaler xenos. A huge claw swung and struck his pauldron. The strike was powerful enough to off balance Navius. The xenos wings down its scythed claw for the killing blow. But Navius recovered well and held out the child-thing. The claw of its abominable comrade sliced the tentacle free unintentionally. Like the trash it is, he flings the child-thing far into the distance. He holds his power axe two handed and dispatched the other xeno with a two 'X' slices.

Grimaldus smashed another with his powerful crozius, destroying it's body structure. He aimed at another group. He aimed at their limbs after learning that head shots to torso do not kill them, slowing them down would be a better alternative.

"Brothers the horde are endless, we need an alternate route out of here!" Came Grimaldus with distaste in his voice. As a Chaplain it was his duty to inspire his brothers in combat. As a Black Templar retreating, tactical or not is disgraceful. But the campaign in Armageddon's Helsreach has taught him that it is pointless to fight for vain, futile glory.

"Brother Partosis, we'll hold them off. Navius plot us a course to fallback, by any means necessary. Adraino, back him up." Grimaldus calm and instructive.

"Yes Lord Chaplain." Came the replies.

Grimaldus nodded and tossed a krak grenade into the mob, clearing a path to stand shoulder to shoulder with Partosis.

"Never imagined I'd stand side by side with the Hero of Helsreach"

Grimaldus said nothing as old memories slowly flooded back. Memories of the men and women whom gave their lives. Memories of his battle brothers who died within the walls of Helsreach. Memories of him inspiring their them to fight for a pointless end. An honourable death in service to the God-Emperor. A last stand that should have never happened. All because of the incompetence of the governors of Armageddon.

He was to focus to the battle at hand, but his eidetic memory kept pulling these memories out again and again. All the while he lamented he did not pursue the chance to smash their heads into pieces when he finally learned the truth. It fills him with rage and fury in which he vented it on the unfortunate xenos. Each swing he made never kill less than one xenos. Ever shot he squeezed from his plasma gun, boils and burns the xenos. Battlelust claims him. His action becomes faster than the last. His strikes more potent than the last. Moving with such speed and ferocity in the poorly lit corridor, he was like a cloud of death that kills whoever it touched.

Brother Partosis was no different, being the Emperor's champion he is tasked to face all known enemies of the emperor. Perfect harmony of his weapons wreaked havoc on his enemies. He rarely used any flair, but the presence of a hero by his side emboldened him. Every slice from his Black Sword is another chunk of meat dropping or flying. In vertical, he slam his shield on a downed Necromorph. The teeth of the chain blades bite viciously on the victim into ribbons of dead flesh. He eviscerates some more foes with his Black Sword, building the momentum and finally leaps into the air, his body spinning horizontally. His chain-shield switched to horizontal and slams it the ground with the force of a power hammer, the weight and the momentum turns a fat Necromorph into an explosion of crimson gore in all direction. The shockwave caused surrounding Necromorph staggering two paces back.

It was all the opening Grimaldus needs to leap in and deliver an impromptu follow up of righteous fury with his crozius. His passion left his throat in a loud roar. But as vicious the slaughter the pair graced them with, their foes are not cowed and proceeded to charge. Grimaldus almost reply with the same charge but his vox channel came up.

"Brother Chaplain, we have secured a rout, proceed back to us, we'll provide cover fire."

"Well done brothers, Partosis, we are leaving!" Yelled Grimaldus as he finished off his last foe with a bludgeon strike to the head.

"Yes Chaplain!" Replied Partosis as he finished off another foe with his chain shield.

The both of them sprinted back where they came from, up ahead was a massive door with the other two surviving deathwatch were covering. As they ran, the ventilation above them broke and spores of Creepers, dead human heads with tentacles on their necks fell on to them. Partosis reflexively covers himself with his shield as they dropped. His Mark VII Power Armour registered their movements on his tower shield clambering to the edge to get to him. Her responded by slamming his shield on the wall to his left, crushing their very existence and leaves a two meter gruesome wet stain on the wall. It was a near unconscious act.

Grimaldus on the other hand was having a hard time shaking it off. They began to hinder his movements. One creeper found the weak armor join on his knee and pierced right thru, its tentacles wriggling its way inside and injects unknown toxins that paralyzed his knee. Grimaldus fell straight down with a roar of pain, his crozius slipped out of his fingers. Soon the creepers were swarming all over him with the horde behind them just 5 meters away. Partosis stopped his run and unclipped a incendiary grenade from his belt. He set the timer to instant and threw it directly at Grimaldus. It ignited in a blaze of promethium fire, incinerating everything within a 10 meter radius.

Grimaldus was unaffected by the flames. He groaned, regains his balance, and reclaims his fallen crozius and ran towards the exit again.

"Are you alright, Lord Chaplain?" Came Partosis and Grimaldus ran past."

"A little shade of brown but fine, my thanks brother and well met."

They ran past Navius and Adriano, and the door was sealed behind them.

Grimaldus grimaced at the pain on his leg and took a knee. The screaming of the xenos were loud behind the strong door.

"Those doors won't hold, hopefully it will buy us some tim..."

Suddenly a loud explosion happened and the screaming ceased.

"What?" Grimaldus asked baffled.

"You were taking a long time getting here, Lord Chaplain. I got bored twiddling my thumbs and decided I pass the time rigging a couple of melta bombs about a few meters away from the door and set it to implode. Those filthy xenos shouldn't survive a blast of that magnitude," Adriano says smiling.

"Your humor is starting to rub off onto me." Smiled Grimaldus and slapped his brother on the shoulder that made Adriano turn left laughing but what he saw made him startle and fall silent. In front of his visor was a hallway of hanged bloodied and mutilated bodies, guts and entrails were dangling, blood dripping in the quiet hallway.

"What in the emperor's name?" Adriano's voice filled with horror. A rare moment in any Astartes.

Grimaldus sensed the mood and switched on his visor's torch, he saw the hallway as well, he was dangerously close to feeling what Adriano felt, but he was a High Chaplain, it was his duty to instil conviction in his fellow brothers.

"Pay no mind nor heed brother." Grimaldus placed his arm on Adriano's shoulder. "These are foul work of Chaos, let none find us wanting."

Adriano was about to reply when Navius fired his bolt pistol. It made the whole squad turned, weapon raised at his direction.

"Brother report, what did you see." Came Grimaldus, voice with renewed vigor.

"My Father...," came Navius, his voice shaking.

"What? Your father? Who? Your bloodline Primarch? Lord Guilliman?" Grimaldus replied as his Plasma pistol was aimed down the direction and walking towards Navius.

"No my lord Chaplain, I'm referring to my old father! My forgotten progenitor! Why is he here? He shouldn't be alive! I have served the Emperor for 400 years, well beyond a normal human's life expectancy! No, I should not say that... I mean, why do I even remember him, much less recognize him right away?"

Grimaldus knew what he meant. Though it is rare that despite the hypnotherapy wasn't able to 100% successfully scrubbing away memories of a candidate's past life as a baseline human, it is definitely impossible for those who have have no memory nearly forgotten... to suddenly remember vividly of their past. Like in the case if Navius here.

"My Lord, this space hulk, it's not dead." Navius rambles on.

"Steel your resolve, Space Marine." Grimaldus commanded. "You're not making sense."

Partosis came behind, "My Lord, I do not wish to say it, but now that it has come to this, I must. I agree this Space Hulk is sentient for I too just saw someone whom I have forgotten."

Grimaldus was vexed, his brothers seeing things, yet he doesn't. It was clear in his mind that Chaos is at work here. His brother's mental state is faltering. He was about to start his litany, when voices started to be heard.

"...Make..."

"...Us..."

"...Whole..."

"Grimaldus? Is that you? Is that you my son?"

Guns out. Grimaldus swirled at the sound of it, Astartes strength and speed made the deed instantaneous. His plasma pistol radiates with heat, ready to kill perhaps the source of his battle brother's distress. And in front of him, was a woman. She's wearing a simple farmers clothing, her face under a hood.

The sight made his heart grow cold. For he recognize the woman anywhere. "M-m-m-m-m-other?" Grimaldus' memories instantly flooded back like a bolt to the head to his mortal life of a child. He is back being a child, he felt his muscles move around his feeble kid form.

"Yes my son, it is your mother, I have missed you so very much. Come let me have a look at you my son."

Grimaldus hesitated and allowed his "mother" to approach, what happens next, was beyond sanity.

The woman's head snapped up, revealing pallid flesh under the hood with dead, milky white eyes. This woman was nothing like his mother. Her mouth opened wider than humanly possible and screamed so loud, it made the squad's vox helmet screeched, causing disorientation making them sink to their knees. Grimaldus mind snapped back to reality and grabbed the woman's neck, his hesitation in crushing the woman's neck nearly proved fatal.

Grimaldus attempted to rise again with the woman on top of him, but the woman vomited blood and puss out, splattering him back to the ground. The bloods and puss started to solidify. She means to immobilize me, he thought. Then another flash fire happened, Partosis used another of his incendiary grenade, incinerating everything. The blood melted and they stood again.

Grimaldus shook his head, his helmet resetting. He checked his vox and it was still working, he attempted to make contact with Hyperion. Having a Grey knight could help make sense of what is happening in this throne forsaken spacehulk. None of his brothers spoke, as if they were still shocked to what has happened.

"Brother Hyperion, do you read?"

Static replied.

"Hyperion, this is Chaplain Grimaldus, something's very wrong"

A few heartbeats later

"Grimaldus? Whats wrong? What happened" Came Hyperion.

"My squad and I have encountered foul xenos of unknown origin. We lost a battle brother. These xenos are endless and severely foul, they fight with the essence of Khorne yet deformed like Slaanesh and Nurgle combined, have you encountered anything yet?"

"No not yet, we are still proceeding to the Bridge. Everything's quiet for no-"

"Grimaldus?! What is the meaning of this? Why are you voxing us about your problems? You are a damn Chaplain for emperor sake! Get your men under control, I have no interest on your failure or Pyrrhic encounter with "xenos". You are an Adaptus Astartes, all you need to do is KILL!" Shouted Inquisitor Javier.

Grimaldus taken aback from the outburst, his temper foul from his encounter with his "mother".

"I am warning you Inquisitor, speak to me like that again, and I shall flay you where you stand!"

"You DARE threaten me? The servant of the Emperor? I CARRY HIS VOICE WITH ME! I REPRESENT HIM! Do not test me Merek."

The use of his informal name made Grimaldus smash his fist on the wall, cracking it's sturdiness, and finally caving. Inside he sees a control room, a video is being replayed over and over. For the first time, his temper has a use outside battle. "That looks important. Brothers, secure that room." Grimaldus said. "Hyperion, we may have found something. Until then, keep that Inquisitor safe for I shall deal with him after."

"What was tha..." Before the inquisitor could reply, Grimaldus cut the line.

Grimaldus entered the room and watched the video, showing a woman with red hair, apparently she was the last survivor alive aboard this Hulk.

"My name is Alissa Vincent. I was... am the chief of security on board the Ishimura. I may be the sole survivor. We encountered an alien life form. They have taken over the bodies of the crew. The colony was lost. My team is dead. It is my belief that the artifact we discovered on the surface is somehow responsible." The woman holds one side of her face and something registered disbelief, struggling to come to terms with her experience. "It has... driven us mad. Turned us against each other." She calmed down for a moment, but seemed resigned to her fate. "If you find this recording, the Ishimura and the artifact must be destroyed." Then the woman started trembling, and shed several tears. "Tell those on Earth that many people fought and died bravely. Don't let us be forgotten. This is chief Alissa Vincent. Signing off."

After listening to her story, all of them were silent.

"Apparently this artifact is the source of all these madness" came Partosis. "With all due respect my lord, and to honour her sacrifice, we need to destroy it.

"If we do that, we are deemed Excommunicate Traitoris" Brother Navius replied.

"That damned Inquisitor, I never liked him." Adriano muttered under his breath while reloading his Bolter.

"One problem at a time brothers, lets complete our mission and deal with it later." Grimaldus hefted his Crozius and made for the exit.

Grimaldus led his brothers down the bloodied corridor, each step he chanted each battle litanies of their home chapter, bolstering their morale and resolve, if it is needed now more than ever after the previous encounter. Grimaldus stops on a door. Its holographic sign board reads, Life Support Station.

"Brothers, prepare yourselves." Grimaldus presses the door and it opened with a screech of stressed metal.

The space marines secured the room quickly. In the middle of the room was a group of men their face covered over with bags and kneeling. One was standing in the center was what appeared to be the leader carrying a bloodied rusty machete. In front of him was a kneeling woman, scarred all over and bloodied and weeping.

He started pacing around her.

"We are the Circle. Take our hands that we may feed you, take our eyes that we may see you, take our minds that we may serve you; we will live forever..."

He then started to slit his wrist. As the blood falls, he placed it above the woman, she cried louder, purely disgusted.

The followers around him chanted in following and cut their wrists as well.

He had seen enough. Grimaldus approached them, his boots thump loudly on the floor to get them to notice his presence.

"Attention, we are the Adeptus Astartes. I am High Chaplain Grimaldus, cease and desist all these hostilities. Or else we will bring judgement. Let the woman go..."

"Ahhhh, we have guest, brothers. WE SHALL BLEED!" Shouted the leader as he raise and plunged the knife down the woman's head, instantly killing her.

Except that didn't happen.

His weapon hand was ash, leaving behind a cauterized stump of a wrist. His knife was a spray of molten metal slightly burning the wall where they landed. There was surprise and confusion on the leader's face. Then he wails from the pain.

Grimaldus holds up his plasma pistol, the barrel smoking from the shot that amputated the man. As one the group charged at them, bearing crude weapons which are puny to the holy armor of the Astartes.

Grimaldus holster his pistol.

"Spare the ammo, blades only." As he plunged into them.

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Hyperion barely turned off his Vox when he felt a faint psychic vibe that made his holy Grey Knight armor beam to life. Without hesitation, he initiated a huge blast of the Holy Aegis that engulfed the Inquisitor and his Stormtroopers routine, silencing the psychic trance.

The Inquisitor turned to Hyperion.

"Explain yourself Grey Knight, what is the meaning of this? Acting on your accord without my instructions?"

"With all due respect Inquisitor, I detected something unusual, and it's best to take precaution."

"Define, unusual Grey Knight, we face this kind of foe many times, what could made you act out of spite?"

"I do not know, but it does not feel like it's the work of Chaos."

"What do you mean you do not know? You are a Grey Knight are you not?! You should know all the answers, it seems your chapter master sent an incompetent Astarte to aid me."

A few moments of they exchange, Hyperion, Javier, a detachment of about 20 veterans of the Adeptus Tempestus Stormtrooper and several technical personnel reached the blast door that is supposed bridge of the space hulk.

Inquisitor Javier turned to his stormtrooper team and started issuing orders. "Adeptus Tempestus, I need nine men to form a 3-man team. Each team secure 10 meter down the corridor on the east, west and north where we come from. There rest of you will come with me into the bridge. Techpriest! Get the door open." Nine stormtrooper broke off from the main company from three 3-man team. With practised cohesion, they heads further down their assigned position.

"I advice you to have your men to stay within my area else these psychic warp begins its tricks." Warned Hyperion.

"I do not take orders from anyone but the Emperor himself, Grey Knight." Rebutted Javier.

"My name is Hyperion, Inquisitor. And I was advising, not ordering." Hyperion replied. And that was true, though it was directed more to his belligerence.

The Lord Inquisitor slowly steps in front of the Grey Knight. "Watch. Your. Tone." He warns before resuming doing things his way, clearly ignoring him. Hyperion doesn't need the denizens of the Warp to tell him that this man reeks of ambition. He could foresee that Lord Inquisitor Javier will become a problem very soon. Sworn to his oath for the remainder of this expedition, he begrudgingly stay close to the Inquisitor, however his Stormtroopers were moving out of his psychic range.

The Martian priesthood hacked (or more specifically cut the locks with melta torch) the security door and entered, Hellguns at the ready. No matter how well equipped they are, their minds were not quite ready for the desecrated and mutilated bodies of its former owners that welcomed them at the entrance. They hang from tangled cables, their eyes lost from their hollow sockets or have no face at all. Some appeared to have been ripped off with force. Some looked as if it was melted.

Half of them take point inside while the others gingerly pulls apart the hanging cadaver to allow passage to Javier. The lighting within was poor, as it is on many parts of the space hulk. A few of them loosed several flares to light up the place. The stick rolled unimpeded along the floor giving them a glimpse of the horror of the bridge.

The dead were everywhere.

Many of them still manning their stations, lifeless with white eyes, their consoles bloodied with torn skin and broken teeth, as if they banged their heads to death. Some bodies were disemboweled on the floor, either huddled close or simply piled up against each other.

These soldiers take extra care in their steps, making no sound as their investigate portions of the bridge slowly with their auspex and flashlight. The bodies were still fresh, as if they barely decomposed. One body's heart was still beating which made the troopers paused in caution, none dare to approach. A loud bang broke their trance, and the heart exploded. Inquisitor Javier had his bolt pistol out and it was smoking from the barrel.

"Enough dally! These are the work of Chaos, nothing more! It's nothing that we haven't seen before! Do not be deterred by it, secure the bridge and find out what in the name of the God-Emperor happened here."

The Troopers subsequently moved with increased efficiency at their Inquisitor's urging. They moved to whatever working console and begin extracting data, any data at all that could be proved useful. Hyperion approached body and initiated a psychic link to it, trying to find clues. Inquisitor Javier paid no heed and stood at the centre, his bolt pistol still in hand. His attention was more to the progress of his men than the blood and gore around him.

Hyperion's mind floated into the immaterium, into the dead body's conscience which is in limbo, he found a small spark of life and proceeded to it. The spark slowly fazed into material and it was a woman. Hyperion took precaution and created a huge psychic wall, along with bodies of stalwart Grey Knights guarding it. He approached and initiated contact.

"I am Hyperion, An astartes of the Holy Grey Knights Ordo Malleus. Declare yourself."

The figure turned, completely emotionless, its conscience must have been exhausted, barely alive. A strange anomaly. Only the souls of the long departed would exhibit the lack of emotion. The freshness of the corpse indicated otherwise. Hyperion puts the thought aside and pays attention to the soul in question.

"I am Adjucate Tiya, member of the security team of the Ishimura."

"What happened here, Adjucate Tiya?"

"They came out of no where, at first they barely existed, but the crew slowly mutilated themselves, cutting themselves, killing everyone, even their own family members. It was a slaughter orgy. Voices, the voices caused it all, it wanted to be whole again. Whole, whole, whole,whole." The face of the apparition started to melt and lunged for Hyperion. "MAKE US WHOLE!"

It let out a large screech that knocked back Hyperion to his psychic wall. His Grey Knight battle brothers began reinforcing their psychic link. However it was so strong it knocked him back to reality with such brute force it sent Hyperion flying towards the consoles. It made him dazed, his eyes rolled, stunned and disorientated.

Inquisitor Javier and his retinue turned towards him, unaware of a shadow descending from the ceiling.

"What in the-" came a trooper but he didn't finish it as something pierced through the back of his helmet. He died instantly. His Hellgun clattered loudly on the floor. All members within earshot of that snapped their weapons towards that location.

The killer was 12 feet tall. Tall as a Khorne Berserker. Bulky as an Ork Nobz. it's skin peeled and flayed but looked very strong and sturdy. Blood dripped from the holes riddling its body. The whole retinue fired their hell-rifles. Powerful energy beams pierced through its body and the creature didn't respond to any obvious pain. Inquisitor Javier fired 3 bolt rounds but the creature hurl the dead Stormtrooper towards him, letting it take the shots and crashed on to the Inquisitor. He fell hard onto a decomposed body, his bolt pistol flew out of his reach.

More monsters dropped down. One was a long thin figure with two large scythes for arms and twitched constantly as it moved. A stormtrooper turned his rifle and fired, but all of his shots missed as if this abomination… This Twitcher… jinked from side to side avoiding it all, as if knew where it was coming from. With one last jerky step it decapitated the trooper with such ease.

Those that was securing the corridors quickly converge back to the bridge. They saw their foes and responded with lethal las fire. The monsters came for them in great numbers. Another creature was grappling with another trooper, grasping his main weapon, unable to fire. The brave soldier decisively unholster his las pistol fired point blank into its chest. The las shots went right through its body but surprisingly the creature didn't register the pain like an Ork. The trooper was taken aback for a moment but determined to fire again. That lapse costed him. The creature grabs his helmet and spewed acidic phlegm onto it from its mouth. The chemical eats through the headgear in seconds into his eyes and mouth, the trooper screamed in gurgles as blood burst thru his throat and melted his organs and skin, slowly his eyes exploded and body went dead. The phlegm melts through the neck and spine. This Puker breaks off the loose head of the dead soldier from the body and it began devouring it. It didn't concern itself to the fact that there fierce fighting was ongoing in the bridge.

The Tempestus Stormtrooper fought on. The remaining troopers started to panic and discipline fell, firing wildly at the monsters. They are veterans all, but lacking cohesion meant that they are locked in individual battle where they will soon be cut down under the sheer weight of numbers.

Hyperion was still dazed unable to regain his senses. He could not reach the Inquisitor in time as a flying monster descended upon him. Javier can be seen struggling against the creature but finally it had him pinned by the arms. From what appears to be its mouth, a sharp impaler came out ready to pierce the Inquisitor's head. However before it could defile him, a huge shadow shot out and sliced the monster in half, killing it instantly. It then moved to the others, quickly slicing its limbs, firing its inferno plasma pistol at the Puker monster, disintegrating it.

The Twitcher dashed forward with malice relying on its incredible speed to kill what it perceived to be an easy prey. But the shadow was faster. At the last moment before the Twitcher could strike the shadow side stepped, cleaved the impalers and twisted slicing it across, resulting the body falling with a big boot to it crushing it's whatever life it had.

Hyperion barely got to his feet when a xenos lunged for him, but having regain his composure partially, he blasted the monster with silver lighting from his finger tips, completely obliterating it. He drew his Nemesis Force Sword. As it left its sheath, it glistens with potent psychic power of blue. Expectantly it easily sliced through another monster just like any blade would do to exposed flesh. But as the blade went through it ignited the victim's body with flame. The creature roared and flailed pointlessly as it's being burnt alive.

Hyperion strode away without finishing it, with a mutter he activated Quickening, a skill allowing him to outfight his enemies by seeing their movements before they even act. He was a tornado of psychic mayhem. Bodies laid down in carnage, none could ever touch him nor get near him even. With a final slice he cleaved a flyer, but as soon as it dropped, more monsters appeared dropping from the ceiling. He seen them coming. It was to be expected due to his former skill activated.

Hyperion channels more psychic power in him as they were closing in. He smashed his sword tip down and unleashed the Vortex of Doom. He stood in the middle of the vortex, completely unaffected by its presence. All of the monsters was getting sucked into the center. Their flesh matter falling and breaking apart, being sucked into the warp.

He slowly strode out while sheathing his sword. The black shadow awaited him atop a console, his armor bloodied and his left hand held a skull of his latest kill. His visor glows menacingly green in the dark as he stares at Hyperion.

The inquisitor barely survived the skirmish with barely a handful of his Stormtroopers catching their breaths, and perhaps their sanity. "What in the Hel was that?! What were those Xenos? Hyperion I demand an explanation!"

"I do not know, I tried to connect with its mind, but what I saw inside, was not Chaos. It was something else, something more sinister. Even my psychic walls were barely manageable. It broke the walls down with ease."

The inquisitor scowled and fired his bolt pistol again and again onto a dead corpse.

"I advice you to stop making impulsive actions like that inquisitor, less you attract more." A voice came from behind him.

The inquisitor spun quickly with his bolt pistol raised, but a gauntlet caught his wrist carefully and raised it high. It was the Raven Guard, Vrex, their savior. "Save your ammunition for the enemy, Inquisitor for you dearly need it to survive. Hyperion and I over here, we can manage them easily, but you, nothing will be remembered of you."

"How dare you speak to me like that! Do not make me declare you Excommu-" He did not get to finish that word. A large blade tip rested a millimeter away from the Inquisitor's chin, it pricked a small drop of blood.

"I am getting tired of you speaking to me and my fellow cousins like that, using the word Excommunicate Traitoris to bind us like lap dogs. Like I said, nothing will be remembered of you, if you made impulsive and rash decisions again."

A few heartbeats later and the inquisitor bit back. "Remove your knife or I will have Hyperion break your mind," his says, his threat came between clenched teeth. If one is crazy enough to judge, credit should be given towards the Inquisitor's defiant spirit.

 _"I will do no such thing to a cousin of mine."_ Hyperion flatly replied via telepathy. _"Brother Vrex, I do start to feel annoyed by this human as well, but the missions is of vital importance. Rest assured he will not bind us forever, I will see to it myself."_

(Edit)

Hyperion psychically linked to Vrex, urging him to drop his knife and sheathed it. Behind him, a trio of adult xenomorphs lunged from the shadows. As if Vrex knew they were there, awaiting for a chance to ambush the survivors, he turned and applified his Vox Daemonicus, what follows was a loud howl almost similar to the scream of a Banshee of the Aeldari, worthy of destroying Adaptus Astartes helmet communication, but Vrex lowered it enough to ultra sound that made the Xenomorphs head implode. Still it made the stormtroopers and Inquisitor Javier covering their ears in hope of blocking it's discomfort of pain. What followed after was a series of clinical swordsmanship from Vrex, turning the monsters to pieces.

(End of edit)

Vrex willingly walked back into the shadows. Before he disappears, Vrex points two of his fingers to his eyes and then points to Javier. "I'll be watching you." And he is gone, all signs of his presence taken away by the ship.

Javier turned back to his remaining Stormtroopers. His demeanor didn't change a bit even after the whole exchange. "Secure the area and get the systems back up we need to find out what happened." With half their contingent gone, the will have to work twice as fast.

Hyperion knew they just woken up the hornet's nest.

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Sicarius and his team were 500 meters away from the hanger when the sound of gun fire could be heard. Brother Tendo yelled, "Found them, guess we got lucky we didn't see any xenos yet, they've must be afraid of us."

As he said that, monster broke through the ceilings and ventilation shafts, screaming and screeching. All types of forms surrounded them, their eyes dead but their rage are hungry.

Zelkir turned this unluckful bearer of a brother. "No Xenos around huh? You just had to open your mouth!" He fires a large ball of flame with his heavy flamer on the nearest monster that is a fat Necromorph. He can hear through his helm the pops of overcooked flesh. But despite all that, the monster stood. It neither roared in pain or flail in agony. Its charge did not falter and knocked Zelkir and sent his heavy flamer flying out of his grip. The monster opens his mouth wide to bite off his face. But Zelkir denied him of his quarry and defended with his vambrace. The monster bites and chews hard but the vambrace holds. Fragments of broken sharp teeth fell to his eye lenses with that sandy 'clack clack clack' sound along with clumps of melting, carbonized flesh from its still burning body. He blessed the forgefather that it's jaws couldn't bite through his sacred armor.

He stomps the tub of lard with his boot, creating a distance and fire another large ball of promethium at it. Righteous fire consumes the flesh of the body of the xeno. Its burning heat momentarily reminded Zelkir of home. Of Prometheus. The fire reminded him of his family and the forges where he enjoys shaping metal with it before and after his ascension. Always the fire. But the brilliant flames he made also reminded him of the accursed kleptomaniac Mechanicus and why he had to leave indefinitely. His brilliant flames, made by a unique variant of promethium and an accidental creation of his own wasn't brilliant at all.

It was the colour of black. Like the blackest of void in space consuming the surrounding lights like the way it consumes the xeno's exposed flesh. This time, the fat Necromorph cannot hold and fell to the floor melting like wax.

"Courage and Honour brothers!" Roared Sicarius as he drew his Talassarian Tempest Blade.

"You are such an Ultramarine Sicarius." joked Tendo. Then several of these monsters came towards him. His own eyes recognized the threat but his helm could not. The threat reticule don't lock on to them like they normally do. "Corpses...?" Tendo muttered. But instantly he draws out both his melee weapon. It was a pair of identical power sword. It had no hilt. Each blade was about a meter long while their pommels were half their length, an oddity.

"Showtime." Tendo used them both with ambidextrous mastery. One swings down and the other swings up, cutting two monsters in vertical half. He slams both of their flat pommel together. It snaps tightly like a vice and instantly it became a bladed staff. Not an oddity anymore.

Tendo spins the twinblade staff so fast that the glows from the power swords was a ring of gloomy blue, slicing the surrounding, human sized monster into chunks of meat. His centuries of experience rendered the tight corridor no obstacle to his long range melee. He detaches his twinblade staff into a dual wielding blade once more and cuts a large monster in a fluid 'X', separating it into four neat chunks and stomps the head into a pulp before it had the chance to hit the floor.

He slams his pommel together again, forming it into a staff. The scratching sounds persist within the walls. The fight is far from over.

More monsters clambered onto Zelkir, trying to separate him from his brothers, during the melee he has lost his heavy flamer yet again and was grappling against two of them. Their meaty limbs flailing uselessly at his armor but their combined weight is making Zelkir lose balance.

"Into the fires of battle, unto the Anvil of War!" Roared Zelkir and black flames flashed all around his armor and the monsters screeched loud and burnt to crisp. He swung his thunder hammer and pulverized another. Another monster came upon his helm, ignoring the the black flames and pried his helmet off, and it's claws sinks half a centimeter into his skin but could not go any further as Zelkir slammed his head onto the cold metal wall and crushed the monster flat.

Tendo paused and admired his brother's ferocity. "Headbutt? Really? 200 years of combat experience and you forgot about using your fists?" Joked Tendo.

"Oh for the love of Vulkan, SHUT UP!" Zelkir roared, his red eyes fueling his intensity.

Sicarius roared into the Vox.

"Brothers find us a way out! Tendo, stop antagonizing your brothers and start killing them instead! By Guilliman's blood we shall not perish here for I, Cato Sicarious will lead us to glory!"

"He is gonna get a royal fisting from Calgar if he heard that." muttered Tendo to himself. He whirls his twinblade vertically from side to side on the scores of Necromorphs then splits the blade again when they got too close. A Necromorph gets a drop on him from the vents but he stabs high It was still alive and prying itself towards Tendo. Tendo frowned and activated the sword's energy and a large electricity flowed into the monster causing it to explode as it was destroyed by the atoms.

Djikal's fight was with another Necromorph, brute of muscle and sinew and just as tall as him. He fires a salvo from his short range Stormbolter into it. The ordinance pierced and embedded themselves into its tough body. Half a second later the brute exploded on every part and crashes to the floor but still alive. Djikal maintains the offensive momentum. He unclips a krak grenade from his waist, teased the fuse to 3 seconds and punches the explosive into its opened side and jumps backwards. Not a moment too soon, the top half of its body disappeared messy chunks of blood and gore, leaving only it's waist and legs behind and plops uselessly to the floor.

A group of Necromorphs roar and slams their scythes. But they cannot get another inch closer to brother Librarian Gabriel. The warrior calmly focus his talent and unleashes a powerful wave that disintegrated the top half of the offending Necromorph en masse. "Brother Captain, we need to move. Something is very wrong here." Warned Brother Gabriel. "Something is prickling over our minds. A large presence. Even with my protection, it is slowly wearing my mind down. I cannot hold it with this much xenos surrounding us. Favoring over to defend his Deathwatch brothers with his mind, he do away with his psyker barrier. Finally uninhibited, the Necromorphs that survived his talent's onslaught rushes headlong for him. Power hammer in hand, he bless each and everyone of them with the Rite of Violence. Pure and simple, its insignia turns all the monster that receives this blessing into dust.

Each battle brother was engaged in their personal battle. And Sicarius watches them all. In the melee, he took notice of Brother Arkhon. The Blood Angel with his twin lightning blades was destruction incarnate. Every swing was a kill. Each new swing was a little fiercer than the last. He will do his Legion proud with his slaughter today.

But something was wrong. T'chaka noticed first. "Brother Arkhon, get back into position. Do not linger too far away from the rest of us." He said. No response. Over the vox channel they can hear him grunt and growl. "Arkhon are you receiving me, brother."

Sicarius was next to speak. "Arkhon, get back into position now."

Even Tendo their Apothecary was concerned. "Arkhon! Talk to me bro! Are you okay!"

Two first words came from Arkhon that made them all pause.

"Quiet Rogal!" He cuts through a score of Necromorphs with a speed rivaling a Primarch. "I will slay Horus in Father's honour! Where are you, traitor?! Come out and face me!"

"Oh no…" Tendo said. "Arkhon's gone APE SHIT!"

Sicarius fights his way to reach Arkhon. The battle slightly shifts. More of the monsters swarm towards the isolated Blood Angel to make the kill. Quickly their sheer weight of number was too much even for the enraged Arkhon to take and he disappears under the random monsters piling over him like a mound of decayed flesh. "Brother! I'm coming!" Sicarius sprints faster. He can hear through the vox Arkhon grunting and breathing hard. He can even hear the multitude of clicking as the creatures try to bite through his blessed warplate.

"...uuuuuUUUUAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" The vox was distorted by Arkhon's unnatural warcry. The pile of bodies exploded outwards. Arkhon in his maniacal rage prime a pair of frag grenades at the centre. But worse was yet to come. He locked eyes with Sicarius and Sicarius could have sworn he saw a pair of beady red eyes through the green lenses. "HOOOORUUUSS!" Arkhon charges towards the Ultramarine captain with blinding speed and did something near atrocious. He swings his left lighting blade aiming to decapitate Sicarius. The captain barely had enough reaction time to parry the lethal blow with his own. His right blade draws back for a stab through the heart. Sicarius dodged it and locks Arkhon's light gauntlet under his left armpit.

Blood of Guilliman, his strength was immense, Sicarius thought to himself. "Arkhon! Control yourself! I am Cato Sicarius, your Captain! Come back to your senses!" Sicarius shouts at him in the deadlock. The Necromorph seizes the moment. Two Necromorph Astartes would be the best addition to their armies. But Gabriel didn't give them the chance. He focuses his talent and casts Sanctuary. The Necromorphs that enters suddenly moved very, very slowly. Tendo and T'chaka who followed suit shot into them with their Bolter. These aren't affected by Sanctuary at all. But like slow moving lava, more of them enters the affected zone. "Captain, this wall will not hold! There are too many, and this place is interfering with my abilities! These xenos are not of chaos, my wall is doing little to falter them, Whatever you are doing, do it fast!"

Sicarius grunted in acknowledgment. He turns back to Arkhon and called his name again. Arkhon responded by crashing his temple upon Sicarius' own, breaking the deadlock. "Quiet traitor! I, Sanguinius of the Blood Angel's Legion will not be swayed by your deceit!" Arkhon swings his blade with the precision of a master swordsman and the frenzy of a madman. "How could you do this! We built the Imperium together and now you seek to destroy it by the words of stranger?!" It was near impossible to talk sense into Arkhon while Sicarius was defending for dear life. Suddenly a powerful Mechadendrite servo arm reach in and caught Arkhon's right gauntlet in a vice. He was madly struggling to release himself but failed. Arkhon lifts his left blade up and was about to chop his right hand off to continue the assault but Sicarius grabbed it. The Captain tore off his helmet and looked straight to Arkhon's lenses.

"Arkhon! Look at me and hear my voice! I am not the traitor Horus and you are not Primarch Sanguinus! I am Cato Sicarius, son of Primarch Guiliman! You are Arkhon, son of the noble Great Angel, Primarch Sanguinus! Resist the Black Rage! Come back to us!"

Arkhon pause as Sicarius shouts to him over and over again. He can see the Blood Angel's senses slowly coming back to him. And then at last Arkhon slowly said, "Ca… p… tain?"

"Brother do not let the curse embrace you! You are in control of your self! Not the curse!"

"I… hear… And I obey!" Arkhon reply.

"Atta boy!" Tendo exclaimed and finally lets go of his grip. Even Gabriel who was straining breath a sigh of relief.

"Captain Sicarius," Comes Telion's voice through the vox, his voice composed as veteran should be. "I found a small breach. Its structure looks weak enough to get through but it'll cause a massive earthquake like vibration on this level, do I proceed?"

"Proceed. Once blown hold area and cover us, we will fallback to you." Sicarius replied, his breathe slowly getting heavy. As a Captain of the Ultramarines, he is known for his expert swordsmanship, but these monsters he is facing shown no sign of fear or sanity. They simply kept throwing bodies to the slaughter and it is beginning to take its toll on their strength. His strength may be vast, but it's not infinite.

A large explosion that rocked the entire station happen a heartbeat later, nearly knocking the Astartes off balance.

"Captain way is clear." Came Telion

"Acknowledged." Came Sicarius. "Squad Zeta! Tactical retreat! Move to Brother Telion now!"

Green signals blinks on his retinal display followed by acknowledgement chimes and the squad fell into a wedge formation, firing their bolters as they move as one.

"It's game over man!" Yelled Tendo as he tossed a krak grenade over to the mob.

It failed to detonate and it rolled towards a fuel tank.

Tendo saw it and cursed. "Martian products. They always work." Later a huge explosion as the dud krak grenade exploded and ignited the fuel tank causing a much larger explosion that broke the floor, sending monsters to their deaths below.

Tendo laughed out loud at his unexpected success. "Haha! This is great!"

However the fuel tank causes a chain of explosions throughout the pipes below the other floors and they fell like dominoes and are breaking towards the Deathwatch. "Oh this is great…" Tendo called out for the rest of them to pick up the pace. They saw what happens and sprinted towards Telion. "What the hell did you do this time, Tendo!" Sicarius shouted through the vox. "Fail and succeed at the same time, brother captain!" He replied in an upbeat manner.

"What the hell does that suppose to mean!?" His question was cut short when winged Necromorphs swoop in low and latch onto their heads. But these monsters will never claim these Emperor's finest as their kill tally for they have guardian angels watching over them. One by one they fell under Brother Sergeant Telion's expert fire with his Stalker Bolter on top of keeping off any xeno stragglers.

Another series of explosions erupted from below them. The ground on this section held for some reason but Zeta Squad was engulfed in flames. A second later they emerged unscathed but their Mark VII Aquilla Power Armour was covered in flames that they looked like the Legion of the Damned witnessed in the last days of Cadia. The Necromorphs that was behind and above them weren't so lucky as their flesh boiled and charred from the intense flame. Useless as they are, they still try to pursue them.

Just as the last Deathwatch clears into the breach, structures fell from instability blocking the hole on which they came from. But as the old saying goes, no rest for the weary. Sicarius immediately take in the surrounding. It appears to be a storage area or logistics department of a sort. Boxes and crates of various sturdiness were strewn around or stacked on top of each other, creating a simple maze. Perfect for ambushes if the enemy they currently faced has any sense to capitalize on that which he doubts.

"Squad Zeta, status report." Came Sicarius as he sheathed his blade.

"Zelkir here, muck and grease all over me but I'm fully functional. Flamer is gone."

"Djikal here, weapons optimal, but down quarter of ammo. What ever those things are, bolt rounds did little.

"Gabriel here, I need a breather."

"Tendo reporting in. I left one more magazine for my Bolter. Nathecium is still functional for treatment."

Then there was a pause...

In reaction everyone turned to their last brother. His power armor was covered in so much blood that it looked like he almost never paint away his legion's color to join the Deathwatch. He was looking towards the far wall, seemingly spacing out.

Zeta Squad looks at each other. Each of them holsters their Bolter and quietly unsheathe their respective weapons holding them on guard. "Arkhon?" Sicarius begins. The warrior was still spacing out even as it slowly remove his helmet and unceremoniously drops it on the floor with a clack.

"Are you alright Arkhon?" Cautiously Sicarius approached Arkhon. The warrior slowly turns around. In that instant, Sicarius knew.

Sicarius was about to say something but Arkhon suddenly dashed for him in blinding speed that he had no time to react. His left blade swatted Sicarius' blade away while the other slashed deep into his chest. Blood pours out in dramatic amount. Sicarius fell to his knees. Arkhon came and bit deep into Siccarius' neck. Sicarius roars and tries pushes Arkhon off, but his strength failed him.

There was a word that no Blood Angel Son would ever choose to speak. It was a cognomen that their enemies and detractors had used since the day Sanguinus took up the Emperor's cause. The name was as old as Terra herself, born from the times before men strode the stars, forged in the fears of superstitious hearts. It conjured all the deepest terrors of beasts that feasted upon life and bore the fangs of a blood-letter. But, in Sicarius' mind, it rang.

"Vampire." Sicarius mouthed **.**

It's too late, Arkhon has fallen to the Red Thirst, now he wants blood. His brothers blood…

Djikal moved fast and punched his brother hard in the face, it knocked him backwards but it made him bite a huge chunk from Sicarius' neck. More blood poured down from a new source.

Tendo rushed to his captain's side and quickly administered critical aid, using his Narthecium's plasma torch to seal the wounds on his chest and almost all of his Sterile Clay to seal the massive wound on his neck.

At the same time, Zelkir and Djikal were trying to hold him down, but Arkhon's strength overpowered them. He headbutts Zelkir back, and kicks the side of his knee so hard that the joint was dislocated and incapacitating him. Djikal was stabbed in the gut by his blade and was kicked backwards, his retinal sign was low in amber. T'chaka and Gabriel rushed in between Arkhon and his Captain as the last line of defense. Arkhon screamed like a frenzied daemon and rushed.

T'chaka with his weapon raised, tensed. Gabriel prepared his Hammer.

"Please brother, do not make us kill you…" They didn't kill Arkhon. That disgraceful honor falls to a green figure who dropped above him and drove a rune-dagger into his skull, killing Arkhon instantly.

The green figure stood up as Arkhon's body fell. T'chaka paused. For the first time after decades of fighting for the Imperium and expects the unexpected, he paused. This small person… Baseline human just killed a demigod without hesitating. With superhuman speed T'chaka took aim and blasted at the green figure with his Bolter. The figure jinks to the right and takes cover on the right bend.

"Friendly fire!" The figure shouted. T'chaka stops firing but only to give chase. He rounded to the right bend just in time to see the figure climbs on top of of a crate. He fires at it again but no shot was hit as he takes cover behind a higher crate. "Cease fire! I came here to link up with you for the Space Wolves!"

"The Vylka Fenrika?" Gabriel asked.

"Don't trust that heretic, Brother."

"Your friend looks beyond saving. He bit your officer and incapacitate your 2 fellow brothers. I doubted you would've stopped him." The green figure replied.

"You dare insult me?!" T'chaka was angered by his rebuke.

"I did you a favor! If I was the enemy wouldn't it be better that I didn't stop him from tearing you up?"

T'chaka was steadfast. "Stand down." The voice was weak. "I command you to stand down," said Sicarius. "The man speaks the truth, Arkhon was deep in the Red Thirst, he is beyond saving. We needed a Sanguinary Chaplain to control him. But this will not save you from your appearance. State yourself, human."

"I am John-117. I am with Wolf Lord Ragnar. I was sent ahead to find you and direct you towards them."

"Ragnar? They are still alive?" Came Tendo. "How are you friends with the Wolves?

"Long story, but we can't dawdle here. They'll find us soon."

It took a little more convincing and a few more stern orders from Cato Sicarius to have T'chaka lower his weapon before Master Chief deemed it safe to come out of cover. They gathered themselves and was ready to move.

But there was one last thing to do. Tendo approaches the body of a fallen brother. In Ultramar, he was regarded as an Apothecary without peer. His healing hands worked miracles. It was said that as long as Tendo is near, no one would ever perish.

Today, the cruel galaxy has proved them wrong. A brother died. And he couldn't do anything about it. Arkhon succumbed to his legion's flaw. His chapter will not accept his tainted gene-seed. He takes Arkhon's helm and pauldron with him. It's the least he can do for his honour. "You fought well, Arkhon. Primarch Sanguinus would have been proud." He unclips an incendiary grenade from his waist and sets the ordinance on the longest timer. He activates it and gently place it on Arkhon's chest. "Return to the bosom of your father, son of Sanguinus."

The group turns and leave. 10 seconds later, the grenade exploded… Burning Arkhon's body to ash.

####

They were hauled up in a temporary sanctuary. A casualty collection point set up in a peculiar cathedral called the Church of the Unitology. It was a strategic location. One point of entry which they all can easily defend.

Ragnar turned to Sicarius and bowed in respect. "Well met, Brother Captain Sicarius. I am guessing you met the current tenants."

"Indeed Ragnar, they weren't the best host."

"About bloody time you lot came, we have been killing and killing for hours now." rebuked Sven. "Do you guys have ale?"

"No bro, we don't." Tendo replied. Sven grumbled something under his throat. "Buuut you look like a healthy post human warrior, so how about giving a pint of blood for our good captain?" Tendo was overlooking John in curiosity.

"Me? Will I be compatible?" replied John.

"Close enough, little guy. Astartes accepts all types of transfusion." His optic whirred and clicked along with his wrist scanners. "I just needed a pure source and…" He paused as he looks at the results. "You're the… likely… candidate." He spoke one word at a time slowly.

"Sir?" John asked. He sensed something was amiss.

"It's nothing… Interesting. My readings indicate your bone structure have been augmented well beyond of a Ecclesiarchy Crusader a density of an Ogryn. Very Curious, I'd like to dissect you once we get the chance."

The word 'dissect' made John tensed up.

The giant in white chuckled. "I'm joking, but we need your blood. Our captain is losing combat readiness."

"Don't I need blood too?" Djikal grunted.

"You're fine, Djikal. The sword thrust missed your vitals." Tendo paused. "… I bet it was intentional. Arkhon's last struggle for us all."

John peered over to Sicarius. Memories flashed back to his old squad mate Sam as he was wounded and he was unable to administer first aid to him.

John nodded and removed his gauntlet carefully. "This will sting a little…" Tendo holds his hand with a gentleness that defies his stature. A small mechadendrite tendril snakes out from its housing and slowly slides the needle into his vital. A second later blood was flowing out from John and into Tendo's power armor. After that, Tendo injected stimulant into John to prevent him from getting anemia as well as spraying disinfectant on to the puncture.

Tendo then move over to the good captain and administer the John's blood into Sicarius via the neck. In his helm display, Sicarius' status icon slowly went from Amber to bright green. "There we go…"

"Very well. We secure the area and we keep moving. I do not wish for this station to be my tomb." Sicarius quickly returning to his arrogant former self, a side of him in which Lord Guilliman is trying to reshape him into someone better. Sicarius got up and hadn't taken his third step when a gauntlet forced him to stop.

"Sorry Cato sir, but you need some rest." Insisted Tendo, his voice serious. When he talks to Zelkir, his voice turned courteous again. "Brother Zelkir. As next in command, can you please take over the squad for the time being?"

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Sicarius replied. His frustration was explicit. Everyone stopped and looked at Tendo for his bold rebuke. "Are you trying to usurp me?"

"Temporarily, sir. You need at least 10 minutes until your organs stabilize your situation."

"Let go of me, Tendo." Sicarius said.

"I will not." Tendo replied immediately.

"I'll forgive you one last time. I ORDER you to let me go." Rounded Sicarius.

"You're not the first one I defied, Sicarius. In battle, you undoubtedly outrank me. But when it comes to the health of the men including you, I outrank everyone. So I respectfully order you, Sir… To take a breather and rest." Suddenly 3 minidendrites stabs on Sicarius' neck. "Or I will administer so much relaxant into you, you'll start talking like an Ogryn. As many other ranking officers who came before you, you KNOW for a fact that I will do it even if I'm going to get shot in the face."

The two squads were quiet. Sicarius was quiet. He read Tendo's files. 27. 27 Brother-Sergeants he have incapacitated because he deem them overzealous and having a death wish. He will not take 'No' for an answer.

Theoretical : His health is not in top condition and hampers ability to lead.

Practical #1 : Short rest will increase survivability.

Practical #2 : No rest will result in the deterioration of squad cohesion.

He chooses Practical #1. Sicarius reluctantly sits on a long bench that is meant for baseline human, the wooden furniture creaked alarmingly under his weight.

"Now that's better!" Tendo chirped enthusiastically. "Sit, and chill. Let me help you further." Tendo rounded and started to massage Sicarius' temple. "Guiliman's blood your temple's hard as a rock. When was the last time you actually literally chilled?" Sicarius clicked his tongue and roughly force Tendo to stop massaging him. "Just… Just leave me be for 10 minutes!" He exhaled loudly through his nose like a steam through a pipe. Annoyed.

"Don't clench your hands. It will help." Tendo says as he steps away. The wolves all started laughing out loud. Sicarius' own men stifled their laughter.

"Hard to believe you are all the same kind yet so different." Said John, confused as ever.

"I like this Apothecary." Came Sven. Followed by Ragnar saying, "In the mean time, Cortana will fill you guys in on the situation at hand."

A blue figure appeared in front of them which again raised a few Bolter muzzles at her, this time from the Death Watch Squad. And just like before they were shouting obscenity.

Cortana rolling her eyes and held her hands up. "Not this deja vu again. Sigh, please calm down."

"What manner of sorcery is this? It appears daemonic!" T'Chaka rebuked.

Ragnar steps in between the exchange in a diplomatic way. "Calm down cousins, this is an Ab… Artificial Intelligence. It is a type of Machine Spirit possessing a physical form. She has been saving our hide countless of times and will do so for you, so lower your weapons."

"Lower them. Tell us everything you know, please Miss Cortana." Came Sicarius. Squad Sicarius was dead silent, listening intently at Cortana recapping everything.

The space hulk bearing the name USG Ishimura appeared out into realspace in Space Wolf controlled system. Ragnar and his squad was dispatched after they receive a distress call from the wreckage. Their intention was to locate and rescue any survivors that they would encounter, in which they found none so far. On Master Chief's side of the story, their ship, a wreckage named Forward Unto Dawn was actually sucked into a blackhole and was transported here, wherever (or whenever) this place is. Both wrecks collided and fused into one larger space hulk. Both the Chief and Space Wolf were fighting for their lives until they met each other out of chance.

Their cooperation proved significant. Cortana so far assisted them greatly to get through places where the Space Wolf would spend time and ammunition to blow their way through. They make their escape towards the hangar, only to find their Thunderhawk destroyed. It looked like it was trampled by giants. Cortana pulls out a video feed from Master Chief's visor. The monster has the appearance of a giant worm. It's serpentine body was riddle with signs of rot.

Ragnar continues after Cortana. "The monster we fought before you voxed me was a great worm beast. An illegitimate child of the plague god Nurgle. The stench of rot from that monster made Sven looked and felt clean."

"Watch your bloody mouth." Sven growled.

"It was nothing short of a miracle that we escaped back into the ship without injuries, let alone fatalities. We have been holding up here ever since." He concluded. There was no response from Sicarius Squad as they look at the clear image of the worm. Master Chief observe them closely. The one called T'chaka had a malicious look. So sour was his countenance that Master Chief thinks he would try to choke the holographic video feed of the worm at any moment. Zelkir and Tendo merely frowns while Sicarius was calm. His eyes flicks from one point to another on the worm, obviously trying to find the most effective way to kill it.

After a moment of silence, Ragnar breaks it. "Sicarius, how many did you come with?"

Another Squad led by Grimaldus, a lone Raven Guard, Vrex. An Inquisitor Javier,his personal bodyguard, Hyperion the BladeBreaker, and his detachment of Stormtroopers.

The mention of Hyperion made Ragnar raise and eyebrow and the other wolves react with excitment.

"The one who broke Angron's Blade huh" Ragnar remarked savagely

"I'd say the odds are even. We need to destroy this space hulk. It cannot be returned to any of our chapter home world, let alone the Inquisitor lest the creatures would turn more innocent lives into their ranks. We know the location of this ship's reactor core. With your melta charges we can destroy it along with the ship."

Sicarius Squad was quiet.

"Brother Sicarius?"

"We can't, Ragnar. By the order of the Inquisition we are tasked to secure this space hulk. We are duty bound to the mission parameters, or else risk Excommunicate Traitoris." affirmed Sicarius.

"Have you gone mad, son of Guiliman? Damn the Inquisition and his order! You saw yourself whatever that turned live men into this! Would you want Ultramar to suffer this on a planet scale? We are barely surviving this ordeal. I lost brothers! You lost Brothers! This is not something we can simply 'hand over'."

"We are bound to oath Ragnar! My hands are tied!"

"And I am under oath to safeguard the world that is under my protection. Stand aside and we shall do the job for you if you lack the heart, Ultramarine!"

Ragnar takes a step forward and Sicarius instantly reacted with his right hand gripping his blade. Their eyes bore into each other. The Astartes backed away, giving them space were the challenge of authority to happen. But both opposing squads were holding their weapons tight, ready to act on their officer's command.

"Just try it captain. I saved your life. Do not think I will not take it."

Sicarius thought of unleashing his fury on Ragnar when something came to his mind.

"You didn't save me. He did." Sicarius turned to John who was standing in quiet.

"And what of it?" Ragnar asks. Sicarius gives him a sly grin. "I never told the Inquisitor of his presence. Unbound by either oaths of moment, he is technically free to perform at his discretion."

Ragnar took a moment to understand, then too grinned with savagery.

The Astartes all turned to John and he felt the mood… improving. "You want me to blow up the station?" John folded his arm. "What happens if this Inquisitor knows that I did it?"

"He will not be an issue to disappear if need be." Came a voice from the Shadows.

Everyone in the sanctuary turned to the voice. Their weapons drawn out with Astartes and SPARTAN speed. At the middle right side of the wall an Astartes emerged from the shadows where the shadows shouldn't be.

"Vrex?" Sicarius called out. "Is that you?"

"Aye." He steps out of the shadows, allowing them to see him in full view. "I come here to deliver my status report."

"You could have just done it through the vox channel." Sicarius replied.

"I prefer face to face, Brother-Captain. It's not the first time in our duties that we encounter enemy that could perfectly imitate our voice though the vox to deceive. Not to mention that I know just how much you hate talking to the Inquisitor if you were to ask for his progress in the mission."

After that the warrior walks towards him. Circling him. Inspecting him. He can hear no footsteps or the whir of the armor's servo even when he was inches away. "Manual joints with sound dampener on the sole. Strong build in jammer to hide under the radar. They may all look the same but his power armor is definitely UNSC's SPI (Semi-Powered Infiltration) ODed on steroid." Cortana noted inside his helmet.

"So this is the green figure in which is part of Ragnar's pack." Vrex circling John.

"You seem capable enough. I am sure, you'll be able to... protect yourself."

Vrex turned to Sicarius and bowed in respect. "I'll be in touch my Lord." He turns. Suddenly Sven called out. "How the Hel you get in here?"

"The same way you did, cousin…" Vrex said as he walks out through the only door in this church.

"Bloody Raven Guards. I never understood how they do that," grumbled Sven from afar.

"I didn't even smell him." Jurgen in saltiness.

"He is a secretive warrior. But his conviction is without question." Sicarius said. 10 minutes are up. "Now, let us resume our mission." Sicarius touches the vox bead in his ear. "Brother Chaplain. Do you read?"

Surprisingly, a vox reply came at once.

"Captain? I am glad you're alive. Is there something you need?"

"We successfully met with our Space Wolf cousin. They are alive as well."

"Praise be! That is good news."

"Indeed. But there's something more. There is a change of plans, Grimaldus. Meet us at the reactor core, please."

"Why is that?"

"We'll discuss this over there in private. Away from Javier's ear."

"Hmmm… Acknowledged, Brother-Captain. On my way there. Emperor be with you."

"And you, Brother-Chaplain."

######

Vrex, stalking in the shadows, kneeling in a high vantage point, watching both squads moving together towards a new objective. He nods in approval. Good, he thought. As things stands the Inquisitor's must result in failure. Not after Grimaldus discovering the vid pict of the late Alissa Vincent. But making an enemy with the Inquisition will be a costly affair that the Imperium don't need. Precautions must be taken. The human would make things easier.

He drew his blade, as he was about to head to his own objective, a small hint of a sound came. Relatively close to him. He crouched, taking a guard stance. His auto-sense showed nothing. But the stench was there seeping its way through his grill filters and it was repulsive. He cautioned himself and braced for what's to happen.

"Terror-Sight."

What Vrex saw, sent a very human chill down his spine.

END.

###################################################################

Appendix

 **Space Wolves.**

Ragnar Blackmane

Sven Bloodhowl

Arkletto Redfist

Zorix the Piercer

Jurgen Ironhead

Vkral Blade-thirster

John, Petty Officer 117

 **Squad Sicarius**

Telion - Ultramarine

Zelkir - Salamander

Dijakl - Crimson Fist

T'chaka - Celestial Lions

Arkhon - Blood Angel

 **Squad Grimaldus**

Navius - Scythes of the Emperor

Partosis - Novamarines

Adraino - Genesis Chapter

Maxion - Minotaurs Chapter

Larx - Doomed Eagles

 **Inquisitor Javir retunie**

2 Squds of Storm trooper

Hyperion, The Bladebreaker, Grey Knight Chapter

 **Own Characters Creation #1**

Warhammer OC

Name:

Tendo Chung

Appearance:

Fair skinned. Had oriental facial features. Bald scalp with one bolter scar on the left side of his temple. White pupil and iris that seems to glow slightly under the light.

Origin:

Aurora, the lesser twin of the now ruined planet Iax. During the Great Crusade, the planet had long served Ultramar as a secondary hospital world for warriors of Ultramar to return and recover from their injuries.

The world provides alternative medical treatment by relying heavily on naturally grown herbs administered directly or through various therapy. Due to the lack of effeciency of said treatment compared to the mainstream methods Aurora's role within Ultramar wanes. Between the large fields of exotic herbs and lack of patients, Aurora turned to a hybrid of medical research and garden world.

Background:

Every world of Ultramar sends their boys to be recruited and be trained to be a proud Ultramarine. Although Tendo's homeworld was no exception he was 2 of the multitude from his homeworld to ever be ascended to be an Astartes.

As soon as he earned his place as an Astartes he strives and became the youngest Space Marine in Ultramarine history to ever become an Apothecary. Many attributed his speedy elevation to his talent as a Aurora born boy. But the truth is that he was implanted with the gene seed of the lost primarch. As he matures, the organs' genetic memories started to manifest. Through them he gained instinctual medical knowledge that quickly turned to real skills when put to practise. His fascination led to numerous notable advancement in treating critical wounds in the battlefield as well as the creation of an ever expanding but comprehensive genetic formula to find the best human and gene-seed compatibility combination to ensure best chances of success with minimal (and predictable) mutation.

As part of the inherited genetic memories he also gained knowledge in working on machines. He tweaked his warplate with several additions to assist him in both the daily tasks and battle.

But the most outstanding genetic trait that he inherited from his primarch was that his soul had, to what numerous Ultramarine Librarians can best described as… naturally shrunk to microscopic proportion. As years gone by, it was harder for any psykers to detect Tendo's presence in the Warp. At present time, he is almost invisible except to the most talented of psykers. That also meant that unless the Emperor himself throw his great psychic mind towards him, Tendo cannot be affected by the Warp.

The Ordo Xenos took heed of his talents and had requested for his strange talent to be added into the Deathwatch as their invisible assassin for Eldars and Chaos worshippers.

Behavior:

He speaks in American accent.

When he was recruited, Tendo was an optimistic young boy. No amount of training was able to scrub his demeanour away even for a bit. He had a nonstandard way of seeing reality around him. Whenever he got the chance he would choose the easiest way of winning any fights or conflicts. In one combat simulation, he had successfully enraged his sergeant for 'being stupid' 5 times in a row; plucking out Heavy Bolter servitor crew cables that is hidden in the panel wall, dismantling a Bolt round and convert it to a makeshift flashbangs to blind his Initiate opponents, dismantling several Bolt rounds to convert it to makeshift grenades, actually used a large leafy tree branch as melee weapon and hastily repainted his Scout armour and fatigues many times to suit his environment. That last act rewarded him chastisement for not being Codex compliant. Though there are the likes of Torias Telion who tremendously (but quietly) appreciates his out-of-the-box approach.

For an Astartes who dedicates himself in preparation of any coming war, Tendo spend an unhealthy amount of time making friends everywhere, something that their Salamander cousins would do. Despite his gifts, his friendly demeanor easily makes humans be at ease with him, even if it worked little effect to his battle brothers.

He however had this compelling desire to save anyone that he comes across, something that at times was frowned upon by his battle brothers who took precedence over the mission. He would have earned a death oath it it wasn't for his medical skills, so skilled it was said that his Reductor hasn't extract a single gene-seed up to this day.

He has great patience and take most things in a rather lackadaisical approach. However he has deep animosity for those that disregard human life. This quality was shown at the joint effort with Marines Malevolent during the Second War for Armageddon, where he severely injures a whole squad for abandoning civillain lives when they can by all accounts save them.

Goals:

From the visions and genetic memories that came to him from time to time he knew that he wasn't a proud son of Guiliman but of another Primarch. He had visited numerous companies but found that he was one of a kind. He prepares to make another brother but because he possess only one set of the lost Primarch's organs, he wanted to make sure that it is a 100% success chance.

Therefore he embarked on a lifelong journey to restore mankind's genetic structure to its original, mutation free state, from the time before humanity ever journey across the stars. In completing that he will clone the pure human and have the organs implanted to make another battle brother like him without fail.

Armaments:

Standard Astartes issue Bolter. Lethal and ready to kill the enemy in the bloodiest way possible or to euthanize his fatally wounded brothers though it was said he never gave a brother the Emperor's Peace yet.

Twinblade. A staff with either end attached with a power sword. Can be split into two to cope with a wider range of battle scenario.

Mini-dendrites. 20 custom build miniature mechadendrites with various tools on both his wrists to assist him in lightning fast combat first aid.

Chem Dispenser. Self made equipment to administer herbal narcotics into Tendo's bloodstream to further enhance his performance further. Also can be injected through his Narthecium for his stricken battle brothers.

Mechadendrite. Large machine arms used to assist him in combat from lifting boulders to cutting power armours to smashing xenos and heretics with it and so on and so forth.

Custom Made Finger Lense - Used often to peek at corners and surprise attacks his enemies with precision.

Skills:

Incredible Medic - His speed and skills in treating and stabilising his battle brothers are a class of his own to the point that it almost barred to art form. Many Astartes and humans alike owed it to him to always bring them back from the clutches of death without risking his own.

Geneticist - Though this was common skills among Apothecaries, this is Tendo's passion. It has also turned to his goal, a secret study of the human gene and the gene-seed of various Astartes in order to find the best combination to increase the chance of gene-seed implantation without the risk of mutation or death. He also employed his skills in developing variations of herbs for his own use as a lesser hobby.

Herbalist - He studied every form of herbs both Terran and non Terran he can get his hands on to make as alternative to conventional medicine. He has his own garden to grow his specialised plants. He often employ a certain herb that creates effects similar to Kalma to sedate his more stubborn brothers to keep them out of the fight for their own good.

Sensible Tactics - He employs the gifts the Emperor gave him to full effect while his brothers charged courageously (read foolishly) into the teeth of battle with battle litanies roaring from their throats.

Great Sense - Utilising his Occulobe, Lyman's Ear, Neuroglottis and Catalepsean Node to full effect, he used this to detect enemy position with pinpoint accuracy, their armaments and perfectly remembering each of their active ammo to imagine every combat scenario to his advantage.

 **Own Characters Creation #2**

Warhammer 40k OC

Name:

Vrex

Appearance

Neat short black hair, pale skin, a diagonal cut along his face. Eyes are as dark as the void. 2 sharp canine but not as long as the space wovles.

Origin:

Unknown, claimed to be from Crema-Furia

A harsh planet that, filled with the deadliest nocturnal predators. Night lasts for 52 hours while day merely last 4. The planet is mostly covered with desloate forest, leaving only a few archipelagos above the surface.

The water of the planet is poisonous, though its beauty and tranquility are unrivaled when when one wishes to simply kick back and enjoy the view and the sound of the gentle lapping waves.

Background:

Speak with a vile sinister but with controlled tone.

Arguably it's the sister planet to Nostramo, home of the Night Lord, but it's lesser planet.

The cycle of recruitment for the Raven Guard is much slower than for other Chapters while they wait for purified samples of gene-seed to be sent from Terra and fewer Raven Guard Neophytes prove able to survive their training and genetic modification than is the norm in other Chapters.

This means the Chapter is constantly short-handed. However, Vrex was able to survive much more quickly than his fellow neophytes and a quick learner, by the time he made scout, he was able to rival the "The Blackwings" in stealth.

Sources claimed he could even Wraith-slip, a skill which only Corvus Corax and Nykona Sharrowkyn could use expertly.

Since there were almost none that of expert in assasination, the ordo xenos recruited him with a few conditions. He would not submit to their authority if it would undermine his own agendas. Since he could kill them easily, so dont mess him him.

Any weapons he finds suitable to his cause, he claims it, regardless of heretic.

Behavior:

Vrex is of an introvert, he does allow some mingle with fellow cousins of the astartes, but briefly. He does hold respect to figure of authority in which he alone determines suitable. Those allies who had fought with him knew they are protected from an assassnation attempt.

But truth be told, he is a "cheeky- fellow".

Goals:

None, just doing his job and no one gets in his away.

Armaments:

Dual glaives named - Renaissance and Abolition

A pair of sheathed Lightning claws were his glaives were lost.

Vox Daemonicus - An amplified Vox

Terror Sight - Night Vision

Mark X Reiver Power Armour aka Phobos Armour

Shock Grenades aka The Hornet's kiss

Emp Grenades aka Shock.

Vortex Grenade (If he decides everthing is FUBAR)

Bolt Carbine - Incase things are needed from afar.

Skills:

Wraith-sleep

Krav maga

IQ of 500

Dormant psker ability but only Quickening

*Hey guys, i know its late, been postponing on and on because of work load and proctastinating.

Written by both me, Jona and my cousin Daryl.

My cousin Daryl is the chief editor and the brains in creating this picture perfect illustraion into a fantasy in your head.

Any interests you may find him squatterloki

Hope you guys enjoy and see you on the next story!


End file.
